Toronto, ON - What do you get when you take a group of talented Toronto youth and take them on a journey to the bottom of the sea? To quote SpongeBob SquarePants, the big yellow animated sponge that we all know and love, you get the “best day ever”.
After two years of being kept from dancing and singing live on stages because of COVID-19, a noted Toronto youth musical theatre group returns to live production at the Papermill Theatre in Todmorden Mills on Dec 8 with a production of a Broadway hit, The SpongeBob Musical, by Tina Landau and Kyle Jarrow.
The SpongeBob Musical launched in 2016 to critical acclaim. It garnered 12 Tony Award nominations in 2018. The musical is based on the celebrated Nickelodeon animated series with beloved characters such as SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, and many more. It features music by David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, Lady A, Aerosmith, John Legend and many other popular musical stars.
The choice of SpongeBob as the musical show to bring kids back to live performances was quite deliberate according to the outgoing Artistic Director of Mainstage (now Executive Director of the Ottawa Fringe Festival) Alain Richer.
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Members of the Mainstage Theatre Company rehearse for The SpongeBob Musical recently. The show is on at the Papermill Theatre in Todmorden Mills from Dec. 8 to 12. Photo: Submitted. By MATTHEW VILORD |
“SpongeBob is an ambitious production – it is very challenging musically. It is also lots of fun and has an optimistic message about the world, something that kids, and their parents frankly, really need right now,“ Richer told the Beach Metro.
COVID-19 has been incredibly hard on the mental health of kids and teens according to health experts. The cessation of extra circular activities has contributed to the social isolation kids have been feeling, cut off from important social, physical and emotional outlets.
This is a sentiment echoed by Grade 12 Malvern Collegiate Institute student and cast member Georgia Helverson, who plays Pearl Krabs.
“The isolation of COVID has been hard. It has been hard to even feel creative at all with all worry and all the limitations around being together,” she said.
Ania Rudzik, a Grade 12 student who plays Karen the Computer, said musical theatre has been instrumental in her life.
“I’ve been with Mainstage since I was 11-years-old and it has shaped me so much into the person I am today. Mainstage gave me opportunities along with the support to really develop my skills and my confidence.”
Returning to live musical theatre has been complicated for the small organization, especially as the cohort of youth is from 11 years-old to 21 years-old which has meant accommodating kids just now becoming eligible for vaccinations.
Digital rehearsals, masked and distanced rehearsals, and daily COVID-testing during the run of the show has allowed this production to move forward with its really gifted young cast, many from the East Toronto area.
Mainstage Theatre Company is a non-profit arts education group that is known for the quality of its productions where talented youth get the opportunity to work with professional artistic teams – directors, musicians and choreographers – on productions that are staged for live audiences.
The production of SpongeBob The Musical by Mainstage Theatre Company takes place at the Papermill Theatre, 67 Pottery Rd., Dec 8 to 12. For more details and ticket purchases please go to http://www.mainstagetheatre.com. Digital performances are also planned.
Proof of vaccination is required to attend the performances.
The SpongeBob Musical
Based on the series by Stephen Hillenberg
Book by Kyle Jarrow
Musical production conceived by Tina Landau
The stakes are higher than ever in this dynamic stage musical, as SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom face the total annihilation of their undersea world. Chaos erupts. Lives hang in the balance. And just when all hope seems lost, a most unexpected hero rises up and takes center stage. The power of optimism really can save the world!
The SpongeBob Musical is based on the beloved animated series created by Stephen Hillenburg and features a book by Kyle Jarrow, with original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alexander Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants and T.I., and songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny and Andy Paley. Additional lyrics are by Jonathan Coulton, with additional music by Tom Kitt. The musical production was conceived by Tina Landau.
SIX PERFORMANCES!
DECEMBER 8-11TH AT 7:30PM
DECEMBER 11-12TH AT 2:00PM
ADULT $35 | STUDENT $20
plus applicable charges
IN-PERSON PERFORMANCES AT:
PAPERMILL THEATRE
TODMORDEN MILLS
67 POTTERY ROAD
Stay tuned for info about Mainstage Theatre Company's SpongeBob digital performances streaming over the holidays!
*Please note that in accordance with guidelines set by the province of Ontario, the venue and our own Vaccine Policy, Proof of Vaccination is required to enter the theatre.
Cast: Aiden Bushey as SpongeBob SquarePants, Ania Rudzik as Karen The Computer, Bronwyn Davies as Mrs. Puff, Cassidy Woodward as Sandy Cheeks, Chloe Naz as Ensemble, Danika Hardie as Girl Fish Trio, Eloise Federer as Perch Perkins, Eve Murray as Girl Fish Trio, Gary the Snail as Himself, Georgia Helverson as Pearl Krabs, Gwyneth Davies as Ensemble, Hollace Davies as Ensemble, Laura Reid as Ensemble, Liam O'Connell as Old Man Jenkins, Limona Haas as Ensemble, Luke Jarlian as Larry the Lobster, Madison Walker as Girl Fish Trio, Matilda Curran as Mayor of Bikini Bottom, Michael Pasyechynk as Eugene Krabs, Mika Haensel as Squidward Q. Tentacles, Nate Bernstein-Cord as Patchy the Pirate, Owen Newman-Mixon as Patrick Star, Rhys Parker as Sheldon J. Plankton, and Sara Ali as Ensemble.
Crew: Danik McAfee as Director, Chris Tsujiuchi as Music Director, Michele Shuster as Choreographer, and Murphy Diggon as Production Stage Manager.
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