Danny Skinner as Patrick Star, Ethan Slater as SpongeBob SquarePants and Lilli Cooper as Sandy Cheeks in “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical” at the Palace Theater.
“Don’t be insulted if we suddenly say, ‘Oh, pretend you’re playing, but don’t play,’” Ms. Landau, the director, warned.
She was trying to contain the cacophony. That’s not to say the roughly $20-million musical, based on the Nickelodeon cartoon that made an unlikely superstar out of a yellow kitchen sponge, means to be low-key.
“We have tons of confetti and balls thrown into the air!” Ms. Landau said of the finale. “We just go, ‘O.K. everyone, go insane for a minute.’”
If nautical nonsense be something you wish, Nickelodeon’s first foray on Broadway hopes to land with a big splash: an extravagant production, based on one of its most prized property's, with music by stars like John Legend, Cyndi Lauper, the late David Bowie that pulls out every bell, whistle and pool noodle.
If this sounds like an unserious show that will drop on the deck and flop like a fish, think otherwise: as the theater’s signage says, “The Broadway Musical for Everyone” — not just kids, or college students.
But if sensory overload is the goal: mission accomplished.
The animated SpongeBob SquarePants had its premiere in 1999 and is now viewed in more than 200 countries. Set in the underwater town of Bikini Bottom, it captures the goofy friendship of its cheerful title character and the simple sea star Patrick. SpongeBob and his neighbor, a cranky octopus named Squidward, work at the Krusty Krab, an underwater fast-food outlet owned by the money-hungry Mr. Krabs.
Stephen Hillenburg, a writer and director for Nickelodeon’s Rocko’s Modern Life, drew on his college marine biology studies in creating the series. It has spawned two feature films, with a third on the way, and has generated more than $13 billion in retail merchandise sales.
Patrick and SpongeBob in the animated series, which has been on the air since 1999 and spawned two films and now a Broadway musical. Credit Nickelodeon
Adapting family entertainment to Broadway has brought mixed results, especially when not from Disney. Recent examples include Matilda (a hit), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Seussical and Shrek the Musical.
Cyma Zarghami, the Nickelodeon president, was initially skeptical about the idea of bringing the beloved sponge to the stage.
“I was worried that somebody would take SpongeBob and put a square character on the stage and it would look like a skip and a wave show for little kids,” Ms. Zarghami said in an interview with The New York Times at the corporate headquarters for Viacom, which owns Nickelodeon.
“So I gave the assignment: ‘If you can find somebody who can translate it in the most clever way possible, so that people are in awe of it, in the way they were originally in awe of The Lion King, then I’m all in.”
When Ms. Landau was invited to pitch, she quickly declined. “All that went through my head was an image of a kind of theme park show with people in big mascot costumes,” she said.
The show’s director, Tina Landau, seen backstage, was dubious about a musical based on the cartoon. But her pitch to network executives worked. Credit Amy Lombard for The New York Times
She changed her mind after her agent said that Mr. Hillenburg was interested only if the musical would capture the cartoon’s independent spirit. (Mr. Hillenburg said last spring that he had been diagnosed with ALS.)
“I started watching the show for research,” Ms. Landau said. “I realized that the show itself is rather subversive, really psychedelic and whimsical and very much full of anarchic energy. It’s a world where anything is possible.”
When Mr. Hillenburg created Bikini Bottom, it was out of whole cloth: a brand-new universe from nothing. Ms. Landau’s challenge was to take the existing vision and make it fresh.
She proposed a show that “explodes off the stage.” Undersea creatures would be played by actors recognizable as humans and not overwhelmed by costuming. (The costumes are still rather elaborate. For claws, Mr. Krabs wears boxing gloves roughly the size of twin infants.) And Ms. Landau wanted a varied pop music score provided by A-list musicians.
The pitch worked, and Nickelodeon put its flagship character in the hands of an unconventional director, known more for new-wave vaudeville and quiet, emotional musicals (Floyd Collins) than Broadway blockbusters.
Before there was a script — or a commitment to fully produce the show — Ms. Landau held workshops, pairing traditional actors with clowns, acrobats, dancers and magicians.
Ethan Slater, a redheaded sophomore at Vassar College, was invited to audition for the role of SpongeBob.
“It was actually really incredibly liberating to not have any structure to work with,’’ Mr. Slater said, “except for the main concept from Tina: ‘This is not an arena show. There are no prosthetics here. We want to see how we can take these characters and put their essence onstage.’”
Ethan Slater, center, in a production number from the musical, which features songs written by pop stars. Credit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
Three more workshops over four years, each featuring Mr. Slater, followed. (Kyle Jarrow, an offbeat musical-theater writer, was brought in to write the book, which centers on SpongeBob trying to save Bikini Bottom from an erupting volcano.) Eventually the network gave the go-ahead and the musical had its debut at Chicago’s Oriental Theater in June 2016.
There, and now in New York, David Zinn’s set design for Bikini Bottom encompasses the whole theater. Fish hooks and boomboxes hang from the ceiling. A Rube Goldbergesque device delivers bouncy-ball boulders onto the stage. And items that might be discarded in the ocean, like cardboard boxes and hula hoops, figure prominently.
The show has received mostly positive reviews, including from the Chicago Tribune, who said that kids “will feel like they’ve walked into an anarchic playland” while adults “will still feel like they’re getting their money’s worth.”
In this political moment the show even has — excuse the pun — undercurrents. Bikini Bottom’s mayor refers to the “dishonest media,” and a subplot is the scapegoating of Sandy Cheeks, a water-loving squirrel, for Bikini Bottom’s ills because she’s a foreign “land mammal.”
After Chicago, Nickelodeon insisted on one change, even over Ms. Landau’s initial objections: The SpongeBob Musical was retitled SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, to more closely adhere to the television branding.
Now the show, currently in previews and will officially open on Dec. 4, faces the big challenge: convincing theatergoers that it isn’t a kid-centered commercial novelty. In fact, according to Nielsen, almost 25 percent of households watching the TV series are without children.
Stephanie Lee, the president of Group Sales Box Office, described ticket sales as strong. “What’s really interesting is that we’re booking elementary through universities — and that’s not typical of a Broadway musical,” she said.
During the first week of previews, it took only a split-second for the packed house to recognize the rather ebullient sponge at home in his pineapple. The crowd erupted in applause when Patrick insisted he get a verse in the show’s opening number.
There was indeed a diverse audience, including families and young adults. Among them was Michael Hansen, 25, who received tickets as a birthday gift from his girlfriend, Madeline Culkin. Whilst talking to The New York Times, Hansen talked about his SpongeBob fandom, including a “Spongesquad” text message group he has with friends.
“He sends me memes of SpongeBob weekly,” Ms. Culkin, also 25, added.
The explosion of confetti that Ms. Landau excitedly described during rehearsal fell from the ceiling at the finale, and beach balls were batted about by the audience. In this crowd, at least, the cheerful yellow sponge had defied his doubters.
“I understand the skepticism because I felt it and Cyma felt it,” Ms. Landau said. “Yet, my hope is — and my experience has been borne out so far — that when people are here, and do experience it, that changes. Which is why we’ve been so eager to get it in front of audiences.”
To purchase tickets the SpongeBob SquarePants Broadway musical, visit SpongeBobBroadway.com, Ticketmaster.com or call 877-250-2929.
Also, from Newsday:
‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ moves from TV to Broadway
The musical lovingly re-creates on stage the exotic world of Bikini Bottom and its colorful characters.
If Tina Landau hadn’t become a director, she probably would have followed in the webbed footsteps of Jacques Cousteau.
“When I was a kid, I wanted to be a director or an oceanographer,” says Landau. “I was always attracted to the idea of being underwater.”
Now she gets to embrace her love of all things aquatic as the woman at the helm of “SpongeBob SquarePants,” the musical based on the smash Nickelodeon cartoon about everyone’s favorite happy-as-a clam sponge that opens Monday, Dec. 4, at the Palace Theatre. “We’ve tried to create an environment from the moment you enter where . . . the feel of the place takes you underwater in this completely idiosyncratic and colorful environment,” says Landau. “We use the aisles to a great extent and we have a passerelle built into the house where the action takes place.”
SpongeBob’s hometown has been re-created in all its watercolor splendor from the pineapple he calls home to the backgrounds of ocean fauna and umbrellas that resemble jellyfish. It’s the culmination of a voyage to the bottom of the theatrical sea that’s been 10 years in the making, starting from the moment Landau’s agent asked her to meet with Nickelodeon. Her initial reaction was to say no.
“I assumed that what Nickelodeon wanted to do was a stadium show with a big mascot and foam costumes,” Landau says. “They said they only wanted to do this if there was a way of making it new and inventive and to bring new life to the brand. That was very freeing to me.”
THE ROAD TO BIKINI BOTTOM
It took a year following that initial meeting before Landau was hired. Her first assignment was holding a workshop to discuss her vision for the physicality of the show with the producers. Landau insisted the actors not be in full body costumes, but wear the simplest of wardrobes to enable them to be use their bodies freely. That was especially necessary for Ethan Slater, who plays the title role and is often required to contort his body in unimaginable ways.
“I have splits where I’m bending myself in half. I’m singing upside down, says Slater, whose costume consists of a button-down shirt, red tie and those famous pants. “Each time I’ve done the show, I’ve learned a special skill or a new little trick I never thought I would be doing. I’ve trained myself to be more flexible.”
Next came the search for a book writer and a second workshop devoted to creating the story. The premise of Kyle Jarrow’s book is that SpongeBob, his dimwitted starfish buddy Patrick and squirrel gal pal Sandy must prevent a volcano from destroying Bikini Bottom. Along the way, the show deals with themes of community, adversity and loving thy neighbor.
Tying the story together is an eclectic array of songs ranging from heavy metal to gospel penned by an impressive roster of artists, including John Legend, David Bowie, Sara Bareilles, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Cyndi Lauper and Panic at the Disco!
Also in the mix are the TV show’s theme song, and “Best Day Ever,” which was written for the series by Andy Paley and Tom Kenny, who has been the voice of SpongeBob since the first episode in 1999.
“I had nothing to do with that getting in the Broadway show,” Kenny says. “I was jazzed about it. When I saw the show in Chicago, it was ingeniously used as the 11 o’clock song where things look their worst and destruction of everything seems imminent. . . . We wrote it as this anthemic thing. We needed a song that’s summed up SpongeBob’s philosophy toward life.”
FINDING SPONGEBOB
It wasn’t until 2012 that Landau began to cast the show then labeled “The Untitled Tina Landau Project.” Slater was on summer break from Vassar College and appearing in Connecticut in “Romeo and Juliet.” The casting director for that show recommended that he try out for “SpongeBob.”
Landau was captivated immediately. “SpongeBob is just about exploring the ability to see the world with childlike eyes full of wonder and a very particular humor, which Ethan has,” she says. “He really knew the show. He just shares a sensibility with that little yellow sponge.”
Both Slater and Danny Skinner, who plays Patrick, spent hours watching films of classic slapstick comedians, including Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Laurel and Hardy to prepare for the show’s demanding physical comedy. At the same time, the actors aren’t trying to just do an impersonation, least of all their cartoon inspirations.
“We are real people, so we can’t possibly be cartoon characters,” says Skinner. “The costumes are an extension of that. I get a little bit of a tie dye and six Hawaiian shirts and a pompadour and it is so distinctly Patrick without just being an imitation of the television show.”
For Slater, one of the hardest facets of his character was mastering that distinctive high-pitched SpongeBob laugh. “When I auditioned, I didn’t even try to do the laugh, not because I was being clever, but because I was so confident I couldn’t do it,” Slater says.
Not only has he got the laugh down, but it earned the seal of approval from Kenny who attended the show’s Chicago opening in June 2016 and has a voice-over role in the Broadway show as the French narrator. “Tom Kenny is awesome,” Slater says. “We talked a lot at the opening night party. When we went to L.A. in the fall, the whole SpongeBob team met me at the Nickelodeon building and Tom Kenny was there and we had a laugh-off. He laughed, then I laughed, then we laughed together and that felt like a pretty good pat-on-the-back endorsement.”
Since the Chicago tryout, “SpongeBob” had some retooling and Landau has been happy with the changes. “We looked at every moment, every character, every song and asked how can this be better,” Landau says. “We deepened characters and their relationships with each other. We have given the story even greater resonance to the world we live in.”
Tied to that, Landau hopes that the end result will be that audiences soak up some of that SpongeBob optimism. “A year and a half before Chicago, I said the world needs a SpongeBob musical. I was both cheered and jeered for that statement,” she says. “I stand by it even more strongly today. I think it’s less about escape from what’s going on in our world and more about telling a story that echoes and reflects our world, yet reminds us how important it is to treasure each other, treasure our community, treasure diversity, and most of all embrace joy in how we live each day that we’re granted.”
SPONGEBOB GETS AROUND
The Great White Way is the latest avenue for SpongeBob SquarePants to conquer with the opening of the new musical. Here are three other arenas where SpongeBob has soaked up fans.
TELEVISION
The Nicktoon “SpongeBob SquarePants” about the fry cook with an eternally sunny disposition premiered in April 1999. The show was an immediate hit, and its blend of surrealism, comedy and catchy tunes has been a recipe even more successful than that of his signature dish, the Krabby Patty.
MOVIES
It was only a matter of time before SpongeBob made the plunge to the big screen. “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” (2004) had him tracking down King Neptune’s crown and trying to outwit a villain voiced by Alec Baldwin. The film’s success spawned 2015’s “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.”
COMICS
In 2012, the Absorbent One finally landed his own comic book. The headline on the first issue was, naturally, “He’s Ready!”
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Also, from NY Daily News:
Playing a giant Krabby Patty in 'SpongeBob SquarePants' musical can leave you feeling fried
From left to right, Ethan Slater as SpongeBob SquarePants, Jai’Len Christine Li Josey as Pearl Krabs, Brian Ray Norris as Eugene Krabs, and Jon Rua as a Krabby Patty in "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical." (JOAN MARCUS)
Strutting around a Broadway stage dressed as a giant Krabby Patty might make some, well, crabby.
But that’s not the most challenging part of the job for the Queens actor who plays the signature sandwich in “SpongeBob SquarePants,” the musical opening Monday at the Palace Theatre.
Jon Rua must quickly slip in and out of the cumbersome costume since he also stars as Patchy the Pirate, a shellfish, a cowboy fish and a member of the Sardine Corps, among other roles, in the show based on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon.
“The most difficult part of this job is the constant backstage traffic, scene changes, super quick costume changes and managing a balanced energy in this roller coaster of a show,” Rua tells the Daily News.
But at least the Krabby Patty getup isn’t too heavy.
“The Krabby Patty costume is foam and surprisingly light — and surprising forgiving of different figures — because I’ve had it on as well as the people who wear it in the show,” says David Zinn, the musical’s set and costume designer. “It’s created by a wonderful craftsperson in New York City named Sam Hill.”
As fans of the animated TV series already know, a Krabby Patty is a burger with a top secret recipe that’s served at the Krusty Krab, a fictional fast food restaurant.
The Krusty Krab is where the show’s title character, the sea sponge named SpongeBob SquarePants, works as a fry cook for Mr. Krabs, who owns the eatery.
“SpongeBob SquarePants” favorites Patrick (Danny Skinner), left, and SpongeBob (Ethan Slater).
“He dreams of being manager there one day, but Mr. Krabs believes SpongeBob is nothing more than ‘a simple sponge,’” says Tina Landau, the Broadway show’s director. “In our musical, when the town learns that a volcano will cause certain destruction the following day, SpongeBob determines that, even if he can’t be a restaurant manager, he can at least be a hero and save the day.”
The show features two scenes that take place at the Krusty Krab. The first scene introduces us to SpongeBob’s love for the joint, which is located in Bikini Bottom, the underwater city where the show is set.
“The second occurs as Mr. Krabs and his daughter Pearl are packing up to leave Bikini Bottom forever, and Mr. Krabs introduces the idea of a ‘One More Krabby Patty Before the End’ campaign,” Landau explains. “If the world is going to end, at least he can make some money selling the last Krabby Patties ever!”
In that second scene, a sign reading “Apocalypse Special!!!, Buy Me!!” points to a table topped with patties made of 3D printed plastic.
Landau says that no portrait of SpongeBob would have been complete without featuring the character’s favorite place.
“The Krusty Krab means everything to him,” the director says. “And he’s so proud to be the best fry cook there — even if he is the only fry cook there. The Krusty Krab represents SpongeBob’s aspirations and, in our show, his ultimate success.”
For tickets to “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical," visit spongebobbroadway.com
--Ends--
Also from the NY Daily News:
‘SpongeBob’ fans wear starfish, pirate costumes to Broadway show
Broadway is a place to see stars. And, now, starfish — thanks to “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
Not necessarily just on stage — but, possibly, in the next seat.
“A lot of people — both kids and adults — dressed up during the first week of previews,” a rep for the show tells the Daily News. “Early on (theatergoers) were dressing like Patrick and SpongeBob.”
Which means, say, floral bottoms and a natty red tie, respectively. The rep added that a few people have been seen dressed as Patchy The Pirate, president of the SpongeBob SquarePants fan club, who has a thing for purple.
This season costumes don’t just stand out on stage, but on people in the audience. While not a new thing on Broadway or beyond — ask anyone who wore crucifixes and fingerless gloves to a Madonna concert — there’s a bumper crop of opportunities for sartorial salutes.
It’s only a matter of time before sparkly tiaras a la “Frozen” hit Shubert Alley.
Before you know it, “On Wednesdays we wear pink!” will be the style motto of matinee ladies — and “Mean Girls” — of all ages.
And a memo to the Jimmy Buffett fans flocking to “Escape to Margaritaville” in Hawaiian shirts: Lose the parrot hats in the theater!
Same goes for the crowns, Elsa wannabes.
Yes, we see you’re enthusiastic. But we really want to see the stage.
--Ends--
Also, from Playbill:
Inside Tech Rehearsal for Broadway’s SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical
Dear Evan Hansen projection designer Peter Nigrini brings his expertise to building Bikini Bottom—and invites Playbill for a rare look behind the scenes!
Nigrini observes his projection designs onstage from the audience. (Marc J. Franklin)
The Palace Theatre is submerged in an ocean of darkness. From the blackout, dozens of screens shine bright, dotting the darkness with their blue-white glow. In the shadows, technicians huddle over monitors, designers whisper into headset microphones, and the pitter patter of typing on keyboards crackles through the room.
The scene looks like a NASA control room, but we’re not at mission control for a space flight — we’re in tech rehearsal for SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical, the new theatrical adaptation of the beloved Nickelodeon cartoon, directed by Tina Landau.
The theatre buzzes as the show’s creative team sets the final light and projection cues of the musical’s climactic scene, building each moment light by light, animation by animation during a process called cue-to-cue. Suddenly, with a stage manager’s call, light bursts onto the stage, plunging everyone into the technicolor sea that is Bikini Bottom.
Cue-to-cue at the Palace Theatre (Marc J. Franklin)
Drama Desk-winning projection designer Peter Nigrini (Dear Evan Hansen, Amélie), greets me and motions to his team’s tech table, spanning an entire row of the auditorium. The table is covered in computer screens, scripts, and notepads. He reclaims his seat and loses himself in his work. Nigrini is busy bringing SpongeBob to life with the one of the few tools capable of matching the show’s bold energy, iconic characters and surreal presentation: projection design.
Projection design is the art-meets-tech medium gaining more and more prevalence in theatre, revolutionizing how the industry creates some of its most visually demanding shows. Depending on the demands of a particular story and production, projection design can add backdrops of specific locales to a scene, play archival video clips to add historical context, project lyric translations onto a set piece, add detail and texture to an onstage set, and more. Projection designers like Nigrini work most closely with the scenic and lighting designer on a show to enhance the atmosphere in the live art form.
Projection designs (Marc J. Franklin)
“I think what [projection design] is really doing is allowing us to tell stories in new ways,” Nigrini says. “It’s really bringing the possibility of a cinematic form of storytelling to the theatre.”
For a musical like SpongeBob, Nigrini’s task is more than creating a video display of Bikini Bottom—he must also communicate the spirit and playfulness of SpongeBob visually, immersing the audience in the undersea world that made the original cartoon so captivating.
Then, of course, there is the daunting task of translating the two-dimensional elements of the TV series into a three-dimensional theatrical experience. For the design team, that meant starting from scratch and honing in on the essence of beloved character without simply reproducing the television show.
To create the projections necessary to make Bikini Bottom a reality, Nigrini uses all the tools at his disposal. He uses programs like Adobe After Effects and Cinema 4D to build content. Then, to display them, Nigrini uses a tool called D3, a projection design software and hardware system originally built for rock concerts and arena performances for acts like U2.
“The amount of technology in this room is mind-numbing,” he says with a laugh. “Hopefully, when you come to the theatre, you’ll have no idea [of the number of machines working]. If we can get the computers to behave, it’s magic.”
As I glance at his monitor, a three-dimensional animation of scenic designer David Zinn’s stage model reflects on his screen. It’s a D3 feature that has been invaluable for Nigrini in creating his projections prior to being in the theatre. Despite his early preparation, the three-week tech period is Nigrini’s only opportunity to make his vision come to fruition.
Projection design tech table (Marc J. Franklin)
“By the time we get to this stage, we certainly know what the plan is for every moment of the show. But you have to put that plan into motion, and you learn what works and what doesn’t work,” Nigrini explains. “We very specifically step through every single moment. We may sit and look at and refine and polish a five-second long moment for an hour if that is what it takes.”
Slowly but surely, those five-second moments stitch together to form a scene until finally the cast is ready to run a section of the show. As if pressing play on a movie, the actors portraying the show’s iconic trio—SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star, and Sandy Cheeks— spring to life and the seriousness of the afternoon gives way to infectious joy.
But Nigrini doesn’t sit back in awe of the scene in front of him—he stares at the stage with laser focus, noting how his projections play out. With a well-known world like that of SpongeBob, he wants to make sure he gets his design just right.
SpongeBob SquarePants' iconic trio: Sandy Cheeks (Lilli Cooper), Patrick Star (Danny Skinner), and SpongeBob SquarePants (Ethan Slater). (Marc J. Franklin)
“There is the balance of the very sophisticated game we’re playing about getting the audience’s imagination working with us,” he says. “The challenge is to not do the obvious, to not illustrate.”
The scene ends as a stage manager calls “hold,” stopping the actors in their place. They await their next instruction. The production team evaluates their work. After a few minutes of tweaking, they run it again.
After about an hour-and-a-half of starting and stopping, it’s time for a break. The house lights in the theatre turn on, the designers remove their headsets, and the room exhales.
“It’s wonderful to be in a room with this many talented people,” says Nigrini, noting the creativity and generosity of his collaborators. The show’s design brims with whimsy, belaying the fun SpongeBob’s creators had while imbuing humor into the musical’s design. “The thing all of us are trying to grab onto is how completely nuts it is!” he says, noting the freedom in the team’s creative process. “It seems like there are no rules. It’s liberating. Everyday is like, ‘Can I have another completely off-the-wall idea?’”
After ten minutes, the creative team settles back in to finish building the show. When the production officially opens on December 4, it will offer fans a new SpongeBob story set to an eclectic score composed by some of pop music’s brightest stars—from Steven Tyler and Aerosmith to Sara Bareilles to Cyndi Lauper.
As the house lights fade back to black, Nigrini returns to his computer and the tides of Bikini Bottom shimmer and flow as he paints with light to create the underwater world SpongeBob fans will never forget.
Nigrini observes his onstage projection design. (Marc J. Franklin)
Flip through photos of tech [here on Playbill.com]
--Ends--
Also, from Broadway News:
How ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ created its rap, pop and gospel score
In the “SpongeBob SquarePants” universe, a pineapple, a sponge and a squirrel coexist under the sea.
To create a theatrical version of this illogical world, director Tina Landau relied on a similarly disparate collection of musical talents, from rapper T.I. to members of Aerosmith to gospel artist Yolanda Adams. With pitches rapped over the phone and demos sent back over voicemail, Landau and her team constructed a rare Broadway score featuring original songs by more than a dozen artists.
“Don’t make it some idea of what you think a SpongeBob musical is supposed to sound like. Make it in your own voice,” Landau advised the artists.
Landau’s vision took shape as she studied the television show in preparation for her pitch to Nickelodeon. In her research, she found that the score of the television show matched the surrealism of its surroundings, as she heard sea shanties, country western tunes and even “Mahler-esque” moments peppered throughout.
Listening to the movie soundtrack, which features music from Wilco and The Flaming Lips, added to that idea, pushing Landau toward the idea of musical score with songs that were “hip and singular and contemporary.”
“The world of Bikini Bottom and SpongeBob is so much about variety and a surreal mashup of things,” Landau said.
Her idea ended up being realized with 15 different artists writing original songs for the musical, including John Legend, Cyndi Lauper and Panic! at the Disco. That feat is a rarity on Broadway, with perhaps the closest comparison being “Urban Cowboy,” which listed thirty composers and lyricists in its 2003 Tony Category for Best Score – though not all songs were originally written for the musical.
Doug Cohn, senior vice president of music for Nickelodeon, jumped into the project about eight years ago to help Landau select the artists. The selection was based on the genre Landau envisioned for the moment as well as artists Cohn had worked with or who he thought would be interested in writing for a musical.
Once they landed on an artist, Landau would pitch them with a short description of where the song fit in the show, the dialogue around the scene and a few pages of lyric prompts, such as ideas for the hook or song structure.
In many cases, Landau took a hand’s on approach, with Cohn calling her pitch to T.I. “one of the best phone calls” of his life.
“I remember I was sitting in my car outside my office and I’m like ‘Oh my goodness this woman is rapping to T.I.,” Cohn said.
“I just went for it with all of them,” Landau said.
Songs began arriving in various forms. Artists sung into their phones, wrote sheet music, sent in recordings of just piano and vocals or fully produced demos and even left messages on voicemail, Cohn said. With the help of arranger Tom Kitt, the team would then send feedback and ask the artist if they wanted to make changes themselves or have the team do it.
Kitt, who is also the music supervisor and orchestrator for the show, said he drew heavily on his experience working on “American Idiot,” as he tackled the challenge of making all songs sound like they were part of the same universe, while keeping the songwriter in mind.
“I want to make sure that I’m honoring the sounds and sensibilities of the artists that are writing these songs,” Kitt said.
He approached that issue by weaving bits of different songs throughout the musical, so that the song didn’t exist as a stand-alone entity. He then drew on the 18-piece orchestra to give the songs more theatricality, adding reeds and a string quartet, for example, to John Legend’s piano-based “(I Guess I) Miss You.”
The team’s efforts appear to have worked, as critics were won over by the score during the show’s Chicago run, with Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune saying that the music, which he called the show’s “biggest gamble,” “works quite beautifully.” The Broadway run opens Monday at the Palace Theatre.
The score also features a song from David Bowie, who had voiced a guest character on the television show. Cohn said they had approached Bowie’s team several years ago and were given “carte blanche” to use a song from his catalog, with Landau selecting “No Control,” Bowie’s collaboration with Brian Eno.
“Best Day Ever” is the other song not original to the score, as it was taken from the SpongeBob movie.
Cohn has a few theories as to why some of these artists would jump into the musical theater genre for the first time.
On one hand, SpongeBob seems to be a unifying force, as he said many of the artists were already fans or have children who are fans of the show.
But contributing a song to the score also gives the artists the chance to test out writing for musical theater, which he notes could set them up to create their own musicals in the future.
“It’s like dipping your toe in the water without having to commit,” he said.
--Ends--
Also, from Parade:
Meet SpongeBob SquarePants—The Happiest Guy On Broadway
Turning the wildly popular Nickelodeon cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants into a Broadway musical sounds like one of the crazier ideas of the season. But having seen the show in previews, I can promise that it works.
Conceived and directed by the very talented Tina Landau, the show is clever and colorful enough for kids—and has a terrific score that adults will find themselves humming days later. Landau got rock stars and pop stars to contribute songs, and then wove together the works of John Legend, David Bowie, Aerosmith, Panic!At the Disco, Cyndi Lauper and many others so they seem a natural fit.
The emotional center of the show is the title character, played by the fabulously energetic and charmismatic young actor Ethan Slater in his Broadway debut. I caught up with Slater one day last week when he was backstage at the theater, getting ready for that night’s performance.
You have nonstop energy in the show. I think I lost two pounds just watching you. It must be taxing.
It’s more fun than taxing, which is a great thing. Once you get going, it’s sort of like being on a playground with your friends for two-and-a-half hours.
You’ve been involved with this show from the beginning. Can you tell me the background?
I was in college and auditioned for a summer apprenticeship with a theater company. The casting director emailed me a couple of weeks later that instead of that, she had a top-secret project she’d like me to consider. I could tell pretty quickly that it was SpongeBob SquarePants. I started with the first workshop, and I’ve been fortunate to be included in each step since then.
How do you turn an animated underwater sponge into a character on stage that everyone can love and believe in?
We talked a lot about doing a production that was explosively creative, where we could embody the spirit of the characters and of Bikini Bottom [where they live underwater] in 3-dimensional human form. We’ve had a broad range of audience members, and some say they’d never seen an epidosde of the cartoon but loved the show. That speaks to the emotional truth we’re trying for.
You’ve made the character a perfect embodiment of hope and optimism. What else is he to you?
I think you nailed the big parts with hope and optimism. But beyond that, SpongeBob really loves his neighbors, and he has these relationships with everyone in the town that are incredibly important to him. The ability to love in the face of fear is crucial. Bikini Bottom is threatened with impending Armageddon in the show and SpongeBob is scared. Everyone is scared, and he doesn’t let that blind him. I think that’s really special.
Tell me about the music—I still have some of the songs stuck in my head.
Tina did a great job of working with an array of rock stars and artists who are at the top of their game. They wrote songs that are perfect because they were all original songs, and they knew what plot points they were writing for. I remember the day we got the John Legend song, “I Guess I Miss You.” We were doing a workshop and we all sat down and listened to it and started to cry. It was so perfect for the moment in the show.
I loved watching you on stage—you’re like a muscular silly putty. You have great strength and muscular arms but you also twist into crazy positions. How did you prepare?
I actually trained with a contortionist for about six months because we knew early on that SpongeBob should be flexible and bendy. I’ve always been a little flexible but there are muscles I didn’t know existed that have to work right for you to be really flexible. I spent a lot of time in the lead up to the show making sure I was in shape for it. So I was going to the gym six days a week and taking dance classes on top of that. I plan on staying healthy.
You graduated college a couple of years ago, and now there are huge lines of people waiting for you every night at the stage door. What’s that like?
It is totally wild. It’s really fun, too. When you’re on stage, you can feel the energy from the audience, their joy and enthusiasm. But there’s something very special about talking to people afterwards and hearing what resonated with them. It’s really a special thing.
Has playing this positive character affected your own outlook on life?
Totally! I feel like SpongeBob’s optimism has infected me in a great way. I was optimistic before, but I really do wake up happy now. Whether it’s playing the character or that I get to go to work at a place I love with people I love, I definitely think that SpongeBob has improved my life greatly.
You are the perfect sponge and so much fun to watch. It’s hard to imagine the show without you.
Thank you. I am in awe of every element of this show. Every day when I walk into the theater, I am overwhelmed in the best possible way. It’s so colorful and vibrant and creative, and I’m trying to give the most honest and truthful performance I can.
SpongeBob SquarePants is at the Palace Theater in New York City, with an opening night December 4.
Interview conducted and edited by Janice Kaplan from a longer conversation.
--Ends--
Full information about the The SpongeBob Musical can be found on the productions official website, thespongebobmusical.com! #SpongeBobBway.
SpongeBob SquarePants - The New Musical Original Cast Recording is available to listen to and purchase today at https://spongebobmusical.lnk.to/SpongebobMusicalRecording.
Online / Social Media
Website: SpongeBobBroadway.com
Facebook: facebook.com/SpongeBobBway
Twitter: @SpongeBobBway
Instagram: #spongebobbway
YouTube: youtube.com/spongebobbroadway
More Nick: Are You Ready Kids? SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS Musical Begins Broadway Previews; New Block Of Tickets Available!
Originally posted: Wednesday, November 22, 2017.
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