SpongeBob SquarePants (musical)
| SpongeBob SquarePants | |
|---|---|
Chicago promotional poster
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| Music | Various |
| Lyrics | Various |
| Book | Kyle Jarrow |
| Basis |
SpongeBob SquarePants by Stephen Hillenburg |
| Premiere | June 7, 2016: Oriental Theatre, Chicago Broadway |
| Productions | 2016 Chicago |
SpongeBob SquarePants (originally titled The SpongeBob Musical) is a stage musical, co-conceived and directed by Tina Landau with songs by various artists and a book by Kyle Jarrow. It is based on the Nickelodeon animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants and made its world premiere on June 7, 2016, at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, where the show ran for a slightly extended period before closing on July 10, 2016. The show has been scheduled to premiere on Broadway at the Palace Theatre, with previews beginning on November 6, 2017, and opening night set on December 4.
Before the show begins, a pirate sits down on part of the stage as the audience is taking their seats. The pirate is revealed to be SpongeBob's number one fan, Patchy, who has traveled from Encino, California to catch the premiere of SpongeBob's musical. Two actors dressed as security guards appear and tell Patchy to leave the stage, as the show is about to begin. Patchy objects, but the guards lead him out of the theater as Patchy sings the protest song "Yo Ho, We Won't Go". One of the security guards apologizes for the interruption, then tells the audience to enjoy the show.
In the opening number ("Bikini Bottom Day"), SpongeBob awakens and happily welcomes the day with his pet snail, Gary. He then walks onto the streets of Bikini Bottom and greets various friends (including his best friend Patrick, his neighbor Squidward, and his teacher Mrs. Puff) as he walks to his workplace, the Krusty Krab. At work, SpongeBob's boss, Mr. Krabs, tells his whale daughter, Pearl, that she will own the restaurant one day. Pearl, however, does not seem interested in the idea. SpongeBob hints that he would be happy to run the restaurant later on, but Mr. Krabs and Squidward laugh at the idea. Krabs tells SpongeBob that "he's just a simple sponge" and could not handle the position. The day continues uneventfully, until there is suddenly a violent tremor that rocks the entire town. Squidward wonders if this is something they should worry about.
The Krusty Krab is forced to close down for the day after the mayor of Bikini Bottom announces that all citizens should return to their homes. SpongeBob decides to visit Patrick instead. Patrick is upset over the emergency, so SpongeBob tries to cheer him up by listing activities they can do together and reiterating that they are best friends forever ("BFF"). The cheerful mood does not last long, as anchorman Perch Perkins soon appears on Patrick's television to give a dire report about the cause of the tremor from earlier ("No Control"). A nearby volcano is about to erupt, and it could spell doom for the entire town of Bikini Bottom. The town's residents take to the streets, demanding answers and solutions from the mayor, but all she can do is offer threat level color codes and vague information. With the town in a panic over the impending doom, married villains Plankton and Karen try to use the situation to their advantage. Plankton tries to convince the mayor and the townspeople to enter a vessel, saying that it will take them away from the volcano; once the residents are inside, he and Karen plan to hypnotize them into liking the chum that they serve at the Chum Bucket restaurant. Plankton explains his escape plan to the people ("When the Going Gets Tough"), without revealing his intention to hypnotize them.
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