SpongeBob is the perfect Millenial Musical (And we ain’t kiddin.)
This joyus and imaginative production by Broadway at Music Circus runs through June 30th.
Wesley Slade as SpongeBob SquarePants, Nyla Sostre as Sandy Cheeks and Danny Skinner as Patrick Star in the Broadway At Music Circus production of THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL at the UC Davis Health Pavilion June 25-30. Photo by Kevin Graft.
Are you ready kids?
Aye, Aye, Captain!
I can’t hear you!
Aye, Aye, Captain!
It’s curtain time at the UC Davis Health Pavilion and the ages of my seatmates run a gamut. With my soon-to-be sixteen year old is to my right and a six year old SpongeBob fan with her mother and grandmother to my left, I am reminded of the many summers I spent under the tent as a child seeing shows like The Music Man, The Secret Garden, and Annie to name a few. In my circle, the theatre is a place where core memories are made.
But The SpongeBob Musical is not The Music Man and you don’t have to be a six yearold SpongeBob connoisseur to have a fantastic night at the theatre.
Premiering on Broadway in 2017, The SpongeBob Musical captures the whimsical and zany spirit of the show while adding a unique theatrical flair. The musical follows SpongeBob SquarePants (the delightsome Wesley Slade) and his friends in Bikini Bottom as they face the impending threat of a volcanic eruption that could destroy their underwater city. With the help of his friends Patrick Star (Danny Skinner who orginated the role on Broadway) and Sandy Cheeks (the appropriately cheeky Nyla Sostre), SpongeBob embarks on a mission to save their home, encountering various challenges and learning valuable lessons along the way.
The plot is simple but charming, but that is where the simplicity ends. While this could be a cut-and-dried touring show for kids ala Sesame Street Live or Disney on Ice, The SpongeBob Musical draws on a wide range of musical genres, visual styles, and storytelling techniques. The musical creates a rich, multifaceted experience, the electic approach not only celebrating the spirit of the original animated but elevates the material for adult and youth audiences alike.
And because this is is Broadway at Music Circus, Director Glenn Casale and his production team takes that eclectic and innovative approach to another level by staging it in the round. For those of you who have not attended at show at Broadway at Music Circus, theatre in the round, is a type of theatrical staging where the audience surrounds the stage on all sides, creating an immersive experience. Through Casale’s innovative staging techniques and Ian Wallace’s scenic and projection design (my favorite part of any Music Circus production), we are transported to Bikini Bottom as the energetic performers move seemlessly from all directions. The ensemble comapny portrays a vast variety of sea creatures and townsfolk, adding depth and energy to the production through their dynamic performances and choreography (Robby Robi). The ensemble moves as schooling fish, providing a visual spectacle via the intricate costumes (Mary Folino) and elaborate wigs, hair and make up (Sophia Anderson).
Josh Grisetti as Sheldon Plankton and the company in the Broadway At Music Circus production of THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL at the UC Davis Health Pavilion June 25-30. Photo by Kevin Graft
The musical boasts a soundtrack composed by a diverse group of renowned artists from different genres, creating a unique and varied auditory experience. This variety in musical genres also allows for a each performer to showcase different vocal styles, showcasing in one song an impressive rap by Josh Grisetti (Sheldon J. Plankton) and a flawless hard rock bass line from Omari Tau (Perch Perkins) in another. From artists as diverse as David Bowie and Brian Eno to Lady A., the effect is disjointed yet somehow congruent. Much like the SpongeBob television show, it shouldn’t make sense but taken all together… it just works.
What doesn’t make sense is the amount of empty seats I saw in the audience. While I saw a large amount of subscribers in the audience (the subscriber set are usually active adults 50+ who have more disposable income/time for leisure activities), I saw very few people my age in attendance without a child accompanying them and I can only surmise that SpongeBob is percieved to be a musical for children. While it is not inappropraite for children, I truly believe this musical was written for the millenial generation. The television show premiered in 1999, the musical acts that contributed to the show are beloved, and let’s face it: SpongeBob invented memes.
Closing Thoughts:
It is diffcuilt to be a critic writing about a show like this because Broadway at Music Circus is the closest to Broadway that you can get in Sacramento. Their website sums it up well, describing it as a “nationally recognized as a mecca for musical theatre’s finest practitioners and most devout audiences”. CEO Scott Klier and his team assemble a company of seasoned performers with experience in Broadway and national tours for six shows in three months. The shows are uniformly well produced and flawlessly performed. Narrowing down performances to shoutout is incredibly difficult but I have to start with my hometown heroes Omari Tau as Perch Perkins and Jessica Crouch as Pearl Krabs. Tau’s brilliant comedic timing and depth of vocal range has made him a joy to watch in several Music Circus productions (like The Music Man!) and Jessica Crouch brought the vocals that made her a success in Pretty Woman on Broadway and We Will Rock You, this cheerleading mammal can really wail.
Josh Grisetti as Sheldon J. Plankton and Domonique Paton as Karen the Computer have a star turn as the dastardly duo, blending the art of rhythmic delivery of lyrics with villainous hilarity in their comedic quest for success. The only thing more delightful than Grisetti’s performance was my surprise that he was the same actor that so beautifully played Tateh in last summer’s Ragtime.
Lastly, while I feel that we are incredibly lucky to have such an institution as Music Circus in Sacramento, I cannot close without advocating for more local representation of local talent. With Broadway at Music Circus absorbing Sacramento Theatre Company, performers that are local to Sacramento have one less venue in which to work and that has been devestating to bear as an arts community. Music Circus has the opportunity to help our arts community both recover from that loss and elevate it by encorporating more locals into their midst. As Sacramento is recongized as a growing city while Bay Area transplants flock here and national publications calling us the best place to live in California, can we really expect to be a great theatre cityif we do not create a community where actors can both live and work?
So, are you ready kids? Gather your friends, put on your best nautical-themed outfit, and dive into the magical world of SpongeBob SquarePants at Broadway at Music Circus through June 30th. Tickets can be purchased via this link or by calling the box office at 916-557-1999.
Omari Tau as Perch Perkins in the Broadway At Music Circus production of THE SPONGEBOB MUSICALat the UC Davis Health Pavilion June 25-30. Photo by Kevin Graft.
