On Sunday, January 14th, I went to the city to go see “Spongebob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical.” Here are my thoughts and opinions on this interesting and wacky show.
When I first entered the theater, the atmosphere and decor was amazing. It had a distinct Hawaiian feel and some great set design. Walking in, there was a unique arrangement of props and stage areas. On the left and right of the stage, the pit orchestra played music while a small replica of the houses of Spongebob, Patrick, and Squidward. Through some amazing stage crew, the show had an amazing design and a great set of props.
The plot was nonsensical, but also a little too dark for Spongebob characters in my opinion. Spongebob and friends must save the city from impending doom by means of a volcano. While this occurs, there is a bunch of political and racial commentary involving Sandy the Squirrel and the Mayor of Bikini Bottom. I personally think that a doomsday plot is a bit too serious to be worked through with characters that have been known to sting themselves with Jellyfish for fun, and feud over secret recipes for burgers.
The character design was interesting, however I didn’t like the design of Squidward in particular. His 2 extra legs were uncomfortable to look at, in my opinion. Character writing, however, was kind of bad for certain characters. Pearl, Mr. Krabs’ daughter, has a very different personality than the one she has in the show. In the show, she’s a preppy teen who demands her dad give her shopping money, while here she’s a misunderstood, edgy teen. Patrick comes off as very rude compared to the show, and it was weird seeing Spongebob’s pet snail Gary was the only character that still looked like the version from the show.
The music was great and catchy, and it felt like it belonged in a Spongebob universe. It was amazing, and I could see myself buying some of the tracks on iTunes. Either way, it was a good play for kids and fans of Spongebob, but it wasn’t really good for those who just wanna go see a play. Go watch Phantom of the Opera if you want that.