January 2020

Posted 12 January 2020; Initially written 8 December 2019

Yes, I am now able to watch Nickelodeon at home again.

Saturday night, December 7, 2019, Nickelodeon aired a professionally taped edition of the Spongebob Musical. This musical starred Ethan Slater as Spongebob, Gavin Lee as Squidward, Danny Skinner as Patrick, and Christina Sajous as Sandy. Since I couldn’t see it live on Broadway, I found it convenient that Nick televised it so more people can see it.

Watched out of Pure Curiosity

I’ve followed this mantra for a good fraction of my life, “If it’s on Nickelodeon, give it a try!” (This later began to apply when I started watching Cartoon Network). Apparently, it still follows today. I didn’t watch the musical from the very beginning on first airing but luckily my streaming service had it on DVR. With the initial December 7th airing running time of 2 hours, 30 minutes, I’ll say this is a musical all right (the 2-hour version is fine too although they cut out Patchy the Pirate’s first appearance and his singing number with the other pirates)! With Spongebob running as long as it has, I’m not surprised it received the Broadway treatment. I’ve been a Spongebob admirer on and off these past 20 years so my thoughts of a musical dedicated to everyone’s favorite yellow sponge were, “Why not?”

Improving Your Viewing Experience

The costuming was very interesting as to make the human actors add representation to their respective characters. The sets were designed very creatively (inventive stage space usage, especially for the mountain climbing scenes with ladders). Just imagine the characters in their animated form. Whatever they do, mentally visualize the actions like you’re watching a regular episode of Spongebob. If you imagine smart enough, this could seem like an animated musical, mentally animated by YOU! Yes, the costuming can seem cheesy at times but with your (forms rainbow with hands) IMAGINATION, this could be the best musical you’ll ever see. It would be even better if you’re lucky enough to see it live.

Give It a Chance!

This musical has been on tour since 2016 but I just recently became aware of this. I saw that some songwriters I admire wrote some songs (David Bowie, Brian Eno, They Might Be Giant…) so that’s a plus. I especially liked Plankton and Karen’s costumes which were very creatively made (actor dressed in a green suit with an eyepatch representing Plankton’s one eye; using both a wheeled screen and a mad scientist-like lady to portray Karen). Again, this musical would be much better had I seen it live. It’s nice that Nick aired this. I personally prefer the 2-hour version and not the 2.5-hour version if I watch on Nick. I’d have to pay good money to watch a 2.5-hour musical. I’m giving this musical 3 stars. I’m regaining my interest in Spongebob now that I can watch more Nickelodeon. I can’t wait to continue to catch up on what I missed and be more in the loop about the ever ongoing news about the Spongebob Squarepants franchise.