Art Beat with Rosalie Crawford

Local primary school musical productions are so worth going to.

This week it was Omanu Primary School's turn with their show ‘Pirates and Mermaids'.

Recently Selwyn Ridge Primary School also produced their show "The Power Is Yours", written by music teachers Andrea Meredith and Joshua Turner.

Selwyn Ridge wanted an environmentally themed production, so what better way to inspire and enthuse the children than introduce them to Captain Planet, a superhero from the ninety's.

Dancers dressed as trees quickly became overwhelmed by wood choppers coming to chop them down and destroy the forests. It was time to call Captain Planet and his five Planeteers who took on the evil villains, Professor Smog and Theresa Cutter (‘trees cutter').

Professor Smog wanted to blot out the sun so his sunburn-prone lily-white skin would no longer be the object of taunts and teasing. He developed a fuel made up of the worst toxins ever (including the evil rotten socks of a teacher called Roger).

Joining in with the mayhem and misuse of waste oil and toxins were local car mechanics, who like a bit of rock ‘n roll. Joining in on many of the songs were choirs, made up each night from different groups of classrooms from the school.

Theresa Cutter, a business woman whose only goal in life was to make money didn't care what happened to the environment. She wanted to be rich! Captain Planet and the five Planeteers came to the rescue and restored the planet back to health.

Woven into the songs, dance and acting, they reminded us that the ‘power is yours', finishing with Michael Jackson's song ‘Heal the World'.

This musical could have been another weary preach at all of us to look after our environment, but instead it was stimulating and fresh, with a powerful message delivered through an excellently written script and accomplished performers.