Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeBob SquarePants!
On March 8, 9, and 10, Westridge Theatre will present The SpongeBob Musical, a wild and fun production featuring SpongeBob SquarePants—played by Sydney S. ’25—Patrick Star played by Ada N. ’24—and Sandy the Squirrel played by Alice C. ’25.
When the nearby volcano Mount Humongous threatens the safety of SpongeBob’s town, Bikini Bottom, he must work with his BFF Patrick and with Sandy, a scientist from Texas, to save their home—all while also facing the television counterpart’s usual shenanigans including Mr Krabs’ unending greed and Plankton’s schemes of popularizing his restaurant, The Chum Bucket.
Despite the looming danger of the eruption, SpongeBob maintains his cheery and optimistic attitude. In the opening number of the show, SpongeBob tells Squidward, “This is the best day ever!” Squidward responds, “You say that every day.”
Although the musical speaks to themes of optimism, friendship, and potential, it is not solely targeted toward a younger audience, as it simultaneously tackles the malicious and destructive ways society responds to crisis—albeit through a lighthearted, more palatable medium.
As the panicked townspeople of Bikini Bottom turn on each other, they think only of themselves rather than working together to solve the problem. They begin to blame others for the situation, specifically targeting Sandy as she is the only land mammal living in Bikini Bottom.
“The cartoon and the musical are so silly and ridiculous and absurd, and they also have these lovely, meaningful underpinnings to the story that are good for kids and adults. I think that’s one of the special things about the SpongeBob universe is that it’s for everybody,” Director of Theatre Mr. Kruhm said. He later continued, “I think there’s some good life lessons that we can all listen to right now.”
Featuring a colorful and bright set, creative costumes, tap dancing, heelys, and a wonderful soundtrack (from a wide variety of popular songwriters like John Legend, Cyndi Lauper, and the Plain White T’s), you wouldn’t want to miss The SpongeBob Musical.
“[The musical is] creative, joyful, vibrant and unserious, and I feel like the unseriousness of it gives an element of youth and excitement to it all…[It’s] something silly that still provokes a lot of emotions regarding friendship and family and community,” Sydney S. said.
Click here to buy tickets for the show!
