Spongebob Is Getting His Own Musical
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea and has his eyes set on relocating to Broadway? SpongeBob Squarepants, that’s who.
We’re sorry if you thought we were referring to Gary the snail. Spongebob is having a moment, this year the show got its first feature film based on the popular kid’s television show and 2016 will be known as the year of SpongeBob’s musical debut. The Nickelodeon produced show will run as a limited engagement July 7-13 at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre with the intent of making a proper Broadway appearance during the 2016-17 season.
If the idea of one of our favorite sea animals starring in his own musical doesn’t motivate you to buy a ticket, the musical lineup might. David Bowie, John Legend, TI, Aerosmith, and Cyndi Lauper have all signed on to produce pieces for the production. It’s like having a Now That’s What I Call Music –Spongebob edition CD that includes all your favorite artists throughout the decades. The best part is that the list of artists signing onto the project keeps getting larger, the most recent additions include Panic! At the Disco, The Flaming Lips and the Plain White T’s.
The SpongeBob Musical was co-conceived by Tina Landau (from Steppenwolf Theatre Company), who will also direct.
“I was drawn to this project not only for its wild theatrical possibility, but also because I felt SpongeBob, at its core, is a layered and hilarious ensemble comedy,” Landau said to Deadline. “We’re bringing the show’s fabled characters to life through actors — not prosthetics or costumes that hide them — and we’re deploying some unconventional stage craft that will prove that anything can happen in Bikini Bottom.”
If you’re wondering what a Spongebob musical will be all about Nickelodeon said the musical is, “a rousing tale of a simple sea sponge who faces the unfathomable” that will unleash “anarchic absurdity under the sea.”
SpongeBob Squarepants is a beloved animated children’s character and his quirkiness defined a generation of young TV viewers.
Cyma Zarghami, President of Viacom Kids and Family Group said, “this character has achieved a level of global popularity that we could never have imagined, and bringing him to Broadway is a way to give him a new platform, literally, to reach audiences of all ages who are looking for an engaging, funny and innovative musical theatre experience.”
We’ve seen “The Lion King,” “Shrek,” and “Beauty and the Beast” on Broadway, will this be the next hit to have come out of our animated favorites? What other animated characters from your childhood would you want to see on Broadway?
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