SpongeBob Squarepants The Musical: Not Just a Simple Sponge
©2017 Nickelodeon. All Rights Reserved. Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? The same cute sponge who has made his home at Broadway’s Palace Theater. Like (I’m sure) many others, I scoffed and rolled my eyes at the thought of a SpongeBob Squarepants musical. But this production—helmed with a lighthearted touch by Tina Landau and featuring an eerily spot-on SpongeBob in the form of newcomer Ethan Slater—demonstrates the power imagination has in creating a Broadway spectacular. If you aren’t already familiar with SpongeBob, there isn’t nearly enough time to catch you up. And this musical doesn’t even try. But honestly, when the cast is filled out by a lazy starfish, an eternally woeful squid and a sea-dwelling squirrel, new converts will be confused no matter what. Thankfully, the deliriously technicolor sets and costumes by David Zinn give you plenty to look at even when the action onstage reaches it’s most manic. Unlike preceding animation-to-Broadway adaptation...