The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!

I don't normally enjoy musical productions, but I caught an hour or so of this one. The actors are so amazing and they display their love for the original show by their performances. Everything just felt like it should. Bravo to everyone involved in this. This is truly a musical done right.

I've been following this show since Chicago and seeing it on television felt like it brought closure to a long journey. I saw on Twitter that a lot of people said it was disrespecting Hillenburg by being released after his death, so I wanna make it clear that this show was greenlit by him and Nickelodeon years before his death, and I believe the filming rights were as well. TV seemed like a natural progression - Nick gonna cash grab, especially since SpongeBob is nearing the end of its 20-year-run. The magic they preserved here made it stand out to me in a way unlike other proshots (i.e. Shrek, Newsies, She Loves Me). Yes, it's a corporate cash grab, but knowing the love and care that Tina and the cast put into this show for years made it a cash grab worth my watch. Ethan's at the forefront of this, and he's having a ball. Everyone is! Big highlights for me were Ethan and Wes, but everyone put their heart and soul into this and it shows. At the end of the day, of course it's gonna suffer a little. Some of the problems have plagued the show from the start, like the mix of talent providing songs in pre-production holding the show back from ever evolving past needing those songs and leading songs like Daddy Knows Best and Chop to the Top feeling more like cabaret numbers than integral to the story. Others are new things that didn't translate from the stage, like the lack of the bicycle Rube Goldberg machine that was a really nice touch to the "boulder" scenes. But in the end, do I care? No! I'm so, so, so happy that this show finally got the taping it deserves (and happy that I won't be stuck watching shaky bootlegs forever). As everybody moves on with their careers (go watch Indoor Boys season 3!!), I'm grateful that this milestone was immortalized for us to keep watching.

I cannot express how much I love The SpongeBob Musical. I saw it live on tour a few months ago and I'm so glad they decided to do an official recording with a decent chuck of the original cast (AND Tom Kenny who's never been apart of a performance but they got him to be Patchy here!)

The set looks incredible, every musical number is so much fun (my favorites include "Bikini Bottom Day," "(Just a) Simple Sponge," "Tomorrow Is," and "I'm Not a Loser"), the costumes are great, and the cast fantastically embodies the essence of their characters.

Now I've seen a lot of people complain about various things, so I'm going to address the main 2 that I've seen because some people just don't understand it for some unknown reason. 1. People have complained that the cast doesn't sound exactly like the characters in the show. Honestly WHAT were you expecting? They're not the voice actors. This isn't a surprise. YOU try sounding exactly like SpongeBob as well as doing his laugh without touching your Adams apple like Tom Kenny has to do for the show. And also, as far as singing goes, I'm very glad they don't sound exactly like the characters because I think we can all agree that when the characters sing in the show, they're nowhere NEAR being Broadway level talented haha. That would get annoying and grading very fast with all the notes they have to hit in a lot of these songs. Plus you can still tell who each performer is portraying, soooo... & 2. I've seen people complain about the costumes, and this baffles me to no end. Again, you can still tell who everyone is. They're not supposed to look exactly like the characters. They just have to embody the essence of them, which again, they do a great job of. The show (although still great aside of the costumes) literally would have never made it onto Broadway if it had a guy wearing a square box. That's just a fact (look up The Sponge Who Could Fly Musical on youtube if my word isn't convincing enough for you). Plus everyone wearing full body suits wouldn't leave much room for flexibility (or showing emotion) which is something that everyone in this show needs for the sake of choreography, among many other things, of course. Plus I think the costumes are great and I admire just how creative they were with them. Try using your "i-ma-gin-a-tion" ;)

So yeah, that's all I have to say. I absolutely adore this musical, and I recommend it to all SpongeBob fans as well as everyone who doesn't hate fun and joy. The recording is great, but if you ever get the chance to see it live, definitely go!

10 out of 10 is not an easy thing for me to say about something, but this was an incredible show. You're not bored at all. The singing will give you goosebumps. Whether your 6th row orchestra seats like me or watching from the big screen at home, this will make you want to get up and dance. This show is great for people ages 3-99. It's an amazing experience and a whale of a time. You will not be disappointed at all.

This is a wonderful recording of the Broadway Spongebob musical. The performances were exceptional and each actor did a great job capturing the essence of the character they were portraying. The story is easy to follow, but doesn't feel dumbed down for kids. There's plenty of great messages. The character designs are fresh and imaginative, and it is easy to tell who is who. The songs are incredibly catchy and sung well( though unfortunately some of them have been shortened from the original Broadway production.) To top it all off, they even have sound effects from the show so it feels like you are watching an actual episode of Spongebob.

Ethan Slater is an excellent Spongebob and the years of practice he put into the role shows. He somehow manages to perform a variety of stunts while singing in Spongebob's voice perfectly. Danny Skinner is a great Patrick and complements Slater's performance nicely. Gavin Lee commands the stage as Squidward and steals the show with his "I'm Not a Loser" bit. Christina Sajous is not the original Sandy that was cast, but still performs the role well. Wesley Taylor is a natural comic and brings a new never before seen side to Plankton.

I'd also like to address a lot of criticisms this musical received before it even aired: -The characters look nothing like they do on the animated show That's sort of the point. The characters in the show inherently do not have designs that are "human friendly" as in no actor could ever really look like a character in the show unless they had a goofy theme park costume or a gross amount of makeup on. Both of which would not be fitting because it would hamper their ability to move and express themselves respectively. And that is no good for a musical. I personally find the costumes very imaginative and applaud what they have done.

-The actors are cringeworthy/have no talent I honestly have no idea where people got this one and assume people inferred it after they looked at the character designs. All the performers are incredibly talented as actors, singers, and dancers. Ethan Slater is practically unreal, singing while doing a split, while upside down, etc. And let's not forget Gavin Lee's unforgettable tap dance - eloquently singing in Squidward's voice and dancing with FOUR legs.

-Awful humor I suppose that one's a matter of personal opinion - but the musical's humor is far better than any season of the show after the first movie. The musical has more Hillenburg-era humor and makes plenty of references to it. There's none of the awful gross out humor from current seasons.

Overall this musical is amazing. If it's not to your taste that is fine - but it's totally undeserving of the vitriol it gets.