Spongebob Squarepants on Broadway is Amazing

We REALLY liked the Bubbles!

After telling everyone I know how incredibly amazing Spongebob on Broadway is, I feel it’s finally the perfect time to share my feelings with you all. In short, it is by far the most creative bombshell of a production I've ever seen. I’ve been trying to nail down my feelings on it for a while, and I’m not sure what I can say to make you understand just how much I adored every thing about this piece. I’ve been listening to people say almost the exact thing, for months but thought they were being overly excited. After the first number, I was on the same very happy train with every other reviewer that's seen the show.

In the words of Maria, Let’s start at the very beginning…

The moment I walked into the Palace theater, I could tell Spongebob would be an entirely different show than I’d ever seen. From the neon-lit flowers hanging from the ceiling, to the netting and other scraps that were covering almost every visible surface, I was plunged underwater into the land of Bikini Bottom from the very start. Then there’s the stage. What can I say about this beautifully weird and wonderful work of art? First off, it’s neon. How is neon never not fun? And the Rube Goldberg machines that flank stage right and stage left, are made up of pieces of “junk” that you’d find in ponds and oceans like shopping carts, bicycles and boxes. All of which are painted bright orange. It’s an assault on the senses in the best way possible. As a design choice, they were positively gorgeous to look at and inspect, all the while listening to the band play the beachy tunes that fit perfectly into this undersea world.

All of this and the show hadn’t even begun yet…

The lights went down and the curtain came up and I was set firmly in Bikini Bottom with Spongebob and his friends. The first few notes of "Bikini Bottom Day" played and I was introduced to Spongebob himself, in the form of the unstoppable, incredibly talented Ethan Slater. If anyone can embody a happy go lucky sea sponge, this guy can.  He’s been given almost every honor and praise an actor can receive, for this particular role, and from what I can see, he’s deserved every single one of them. Also notable is the sublime Gavin Lee as the character Squidward. In the form of a four legged squid (2 were real, and 2 were fake attached to his back), I watched in wonder as he performed a full-out tap number using all 4 legs. It is a feat of talent and acrobatics I’m sure.

Of course every good story, needs a good bad guy and that’s where Wesley Taylor as Sheldon Plankton. His particular brand of snark worked wonderfully for this all around annoying plankton. I’ve seen his name over the years, but I’ve never seen him in action. He’s a star for sure. He goes all in on some of the most ridiculously funny dialogue and action sequences.

The large cast is is rounded out by beautifully talented actors who buy in completely into the outrageous and happy world of Bikini Bottom. The very fact that these actors can perform this incredibly complicated choreography and music, all the while seemingly having a blast sharing this story with the audience is beyond thrilling to see. 

Mixed in with the fabulous show, there are moments of brilliance. These moments include the spectacular 4-legged tap number mentioned earlier. There's another number though that requires a special mention. Towards the end of the production, Ethan Slater climbs Mount Humongous - which is made up of intersecting ladders - while attached to wires (to keep him safe) and sings at the same time.  He manages to do all of the acrobatics while never tangling his lines in the ladders or missing a note of his solo. It was incredible and I'm still in awe of his talent!

After 2 hours of awesomeness, the creatives had one more trick up their sleeve...

Because I tend to opt for the cheap seats, I'm not always included in the fun audience participation elements of shows. And while the cheap seats at the Palace, aren't fantastic (I'd highly recommend forking out the money for orchestra if you want to see everything!), the creatives found a way to include every single person in the theatre in the final surprise of the evening. As the last notes of the show concluded, bubbles and confetti reigned down all over the theatre - even in the cheap seats! For such a small moment, we were so darn excited! It was the cherry on the top of a huge theatre sundae! 

I'm heartbroken that this show will be leaving the boards in just a few days, but I'm incredibly happy to have had the chance to see this gem. I'm hopeful that everyone involved will take some of the magical Broadway fairy dust they gathered from this gorgeous production, and sprinkle that dust all over their future projects. If any of those productions show at least a half of the creativity that Spongebob shared, I'll be first in line to buy tickets!