"SpongeBob The Musical" by The Young Performers.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

I've been aware of this musical for a while but have never seen it on stage before. There's a good reason for this, and that is because until now, the license to perform this musical has never been available. The Young Performers are the first, as far as I know, amateur drama group to perform it.

I won't say that this musical is going to be one of my favourite new musicals any time soon, but I can definitely see the appeal, especially of the music; the soundtrack having been written by acts like Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, John Legend, Sara Bareilles, Steven Tyler and Yolanda Adams to name just a few.

The story is as follows......When the citizens of Bikini Bottom discover there is a volcano within their midst, and is ready to erupt and destroy their home, they have to team up to save their underwater world.

With lives and everything that they hold dear to them hanging in the balance, an unexpected hero surfaces, but is it too late to save the inhabitants of Bikini Bottom?

Based on the Nickelodeon television series characters by Steven Hillenberg, written by Kyle Jarrow and conceived by Tina Landau, viewers of this legendary children's TV animated show, will immediately recognise all of the characters, thus breaking down any needed introductions to theatre viewers of a certain age.

The soundtrack to this charming piece of theatre needs a warning to adults that there are several earworm songs that you may find difficult to get rid of for a while. Be prepared to get your Bikini Bottom Boogie on with catchy tunes like "BFF" - which also has a dance that goes with it, "Poor Pirates", "Bikini Bottom Day", "Chop To The Top" and "(I Guess I) Miss You"! You'll need more than a cotton bud to prise these out of your ears.

Eugene Krabb is played by a young actor I'd noted from previous Young Performers shows, Lewis McDowall. Another fun filled character and performance from Lewis.

Pearl Krabb is played by Summer McNorton, and what really hits you about Summer is her voice. What a wonderful voice she has and she shows off her vocals brilliantly in this role. I look forward to seeing Summer in more musicals over the next few years and seeing, and hearing how she develops.

SpongeBob Squarepants is played by another actor who I've seen, and noted before, Finlay Tomlinson. Being the leading man he shows great confidence, and even without a giant sponge for a costume, he looked more and more like Spongebob (from what I can remember), the more the show progressed. Even on the rare occasion he tripped up on his lines, he carried on like the professional he is.

Patrick Star is played by Evan Del Gaudio, and I can see this young man growing into a very talented character actor. The personality he injects into the role made, not only Patrick a star, but Evan a star as well. A really good set of vocals as well.

Sandy Cheeks is played by Neve Johnson, and as with Patrick Star, this character is full of fun and character, and this is brought out by Neve.

William Mellor plays Sheldon J Plankton. One thing that you notice with all of these young actors is the energy that they put into their roles and William is another wonderful character driven young actor.

Ella Charlesworth plays Squidward Q Tentacles. I love the costume for this character, which looked really weird to start with until I understood the character and then it all made sense. Ella also took the lead in the tap dance section, and I love a tap section; and I loved this section of the show.

The radio announcer, Perch Perkins, is played by Drew Boswell. Loved this role and I loved the energy put into this fun role by Drew.

James S Pedrick, who played The Mayor, is yet another confident young actor I've seen on several occasions. Again, he delivers and gets to wear a very eye catching suit!

Old Man Jenkins is played by Alex Povey. Every time that I've seen Alex on stage, he always gives 110%. He is full of energy and an excellent character actor. Alex is another one to look out for in future productions.

There's also a large ensemble of undersea characters. Millie Weston (Karen), Freddie Cutts (Patchy), Louis Dexter (Larry), Emily Wilkins, Lucy Coulson-Jones and Polly Snape (The Electric Skates), Sophie Dexter (Buster Bluetang), Lucie Artiss (Mrs Puff), Dillan Brookes (Johnny Bartender), Izzy Pickering and Sophie Longcroft (Sardines), Finlay Boswell (Foley Fish), Keeley Rickerby (Blob Fish), Catly Gaunt (Cowboy Fish), Elouise Ludlow (Clowne Fish), Avaani Babra, Erin Gill, Jess Henshaw and A J Chamberlain (Painted Gobys).

Directed by Zak Charlesworth, he has done a wonderful job with an enormous cast and created a fun filled and fast paced show that has again highlighted loads of young talent. Zak is assisted by Neve Saxton.

George Parkinson is the Musical Director for this show, and you'd have thought, if you didn't know that this was a recorded backing track, the sound was so slick.

Brilliant Set Design by Roydon Charlesworth, which also included a climbable section of the volcano on stage and bubbles.

Sound design is by Dave Dallard and Lighting design by Dave Martin. There were a few missed spotlights on actors and a few mics that weren't on when the script was delivered but on the whole, everything ran smoothly in both departments

The costumes, which were an explosion of colour and great fun, are by Sarah, Roydon, Raj and Victoria.

Choreography for this show is by Vicky Byrne, and there is a lot of choreography here, and as I said earlier, I love the tap dance section. That and the lovely fun dance for "BFF" and the rest of the energy fuelled dances made this musical an energetic tour de force. Vicky was assisted by Emilia Buxton.

If the size of the audience were anything to go by, this show is going to be a success, because it was near full, mainly with a younger age group, but apart from panto, there's not that many theatre pieces aimed at a younger age group, so good on The Young Performers for getting the licence for this show and giving fans of the cartoon series a real treat. This may also attract new members to the stage when they see the fun that can be had.

"SpongeBob The Musical" can be seen at The Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton until Saturday 21 January.