1. The score is incredible
The score is like that person at the party who has an epic playlist! Experimenting with musical genres, this soundtrack has something for everyone.
From David Bowie to Panic! At the Disco, Cyndi Lauper, and The Plain White T’s, The SpongeBob Musical is scored by iconic pop and rock artists, exploring gospel, hip-hop and indie, to name just a few! Despite being a mishmash of unique styles, the songs themselves come together in a coherent way and the result is a glistening finish that stands apart from anything else out there. A couple of standouts are ‘Bikini Bottom Day’ and ‘(Just a) Simple Sponge.’.
2. It’s a visual feast
The SpongeBob Musical paints a vivid picture of the vibrant and colourful world of Bikini Bottom. Steven Howell’s larger-than-life set design paired with bubbly underwater scenes, makes the musical a visually stimulating experience and one that is consistently fun and easy on the eyes.
There are subtle creative touches to the overall aesthetics that really highlight the shows theme of global warming and climate change, such as the use of discarded items from the sea. Sarah Mercade's costume design allows SpongeBob and his friends to maintain their iconic appearance without the overuse of prosthetic or heavy makeup, and it totally works for the stage.
3. It’s surprisingly deep…
The musical takes note of the cartoon's life lessons and expands on them, it tackles serious issues such as climate change, prejudice, and xenophobia, by utilising the storyline and characters to satirise real-world events and topics.
In this story, a nearby volcano known as Mount Humongous threatens to destroy Bikini Bottom, and its residents msut race against the clock to save their beloved town. As the disaster lies in the wake, the citizens begin to spread lies about each other, marginalise one another and lose the plot due to fear, and this is where the story reaches deeper depths. It reminds us of the power of optimism and inclusion.
4….whilst also giving us the usual SpongeBob antics
The show is a joy from start to finish thanks to the comedic timing, particularly in Lewis Cornay's portrayal of SpongeBob.
We are served with all of the usual SpongeBob realness, we find our helpless but positive Sponge still hoping to become the manager of the Krusty Krab, whilst Plankton is hatching his destructive plans. Sandy is thinking of ways to save the day and Squidward unsurprisingly shows up and delivers a huge show number called ‘I’m Not a Loser’. It’s the usual SpongeBob affair, and we can’t get enough of it.
5. The cast brings the characters to life
When the characters have human shoes, you need big personalities to fill them. Lewis Cornay portrays SpongeBob with the perfect amount of squeaky naivety. Irfan Damani’s charming innocence as Patrick Star does the character justice. Tom Read Wilson and Gareth Gates are fantastic in their roles of the grumpy Squidward (each playing the part on different selected dates), with his extra squiddy leg and Divina de Campo's performance as Plankton is brilliantly cruel, and everything you’d expect from a Divinda de Campo performance.
The SpongeBob Musical tickets are available now!
That’s it Captain! We could talk about The SpongeBob Musical all day, but to believe it, you need to see it! Are you ready to take a swim?