By Shor M. Masori in San Diego
Cygnet Theatre’s The SpongeBob Musical is a bright, loud, goofy, bubble-filled trip to Bikini Bottom. Playing at Cygnet’s Joseph Clayes III Theater through July 12, the musical is based on the Nickelodeon series created by Stephen Hillenburg and follows SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends as they try to save their undersea home from disaster.
The plot is a SpongeBob classic. Bikini Bottom is in danger, the citizens react badly, chaos ensues. Some look for an ‘other’ to blame. Some turn to religion, or in this case invent one. Some run. Some try to make money or gain control. A few, like SpongeBob (Bailey Lee), Patrick Star (Beto Fernandez), and Sandy Cheeks (Rebecca Murillo) decide to do something about it.
The show is aimed at a younger demographic and adults will quickly recognize the larger lessons. The show uses cartoon silliness to talk about fear, mob behavior, selfishness, optimism, and community.
Lee’s SpongeBob “Hero” SquarePants is played with high energy and a big smile. At times, her performance felt a little like a kids’ show presenter, which was occasionally a little off-putting. However, it did fit the cartoony style of the play. SpongeBob is supposed to be cheerful, loud, innocent, and almost impossibly optimistic.
Fernández‘s Star had a noticeably different speaking voice and singing, which made some moments feel less consistent, but Patrick still had many of the character’s goofy rhythms and got some of the bigger laughs. Rebecca Murillo’s Sandy Cheeks was good as the practical problem-solver grappling with fixing a problem for people who ostracize her.
Outside the main trio, the audience favorites (based on applause) were Pearl and Squidward. Brittany Adriana Carrillo, as Pearl, had one of the best voices in the cast. Andrew Oswald’s Squidward was also a standout. Squidward sees himself as an artist trapped among fools, which allows him to do a lot of the theatery things. The costume work for Squidward was a highlight. He had quadruple legs with his real shoes attached to false shoes, allowing each leg to bend individually. The suspenders under his vest and derby hat were also nice touches.
Drew Bradford’s Sheldon J. Plankton was my favorite. His voice was a good match for the character’s, and it seemed like he had fun being the maniacal villain. His voice also changed depending on what he was singing. The rap section sounded closer to his speaking voice but was impressive nonetheless. Also, Plankton doing an Eminem-like rap is wild. Plankton and Karen, played by Emma Nossal, had great chemistry together as they tried finding their spark again through their mutual love for evil schemes.
The costumes are fun, although they take a little getting used to. Rather than looking like mascot suits or exact cartoon copies they used color, shape, fabric, wigs, and makeup inspired by the characters. When characters brought out signs, sketches, and cartoon objects, they looked very much like the animated series and were nicely done.
The sound design by Evan Eason and the live foley work by Coleman Ray Clark added a lot. The effects popped, squeaked, bounced, and squished in a way that sounded like the cartoon. Some cues came a little early or a little late, but the sounds helped make the stage feel like SpongeBob’s world.
The show also makes many allusions to other theater types and motifs. There was even a tap number! Some of those pieces land better than others, but they keep the show moving.
The songs are mixed. Some are very fun and move the story forward. Others feel less important than the staging, costumes, sound effects, props, and physical comedy. The show often feels like watching a long episode of the cartoon onstage.
The front rows get a lot of bubble action, and characters run through the middle aisle between rows D and E. That can be fun for children and SpongeBob fans who want to be close to the action. It also means seats in the front through row D can be annoying during some bits because you have to turn around to see what is happening behind you.
The moral at the end felt a little ham-fisted. In my opinion it did not need to underline the lesson quite so much but that didn’t take away from anything.
SpongeBob fans will be happy. There are plenty of references to the cartoon, the characters are recognizable, and the production commits to the silly weirdness of Bikini Bottom.
The SpongeBob Musical runs through July 12 at Cygnet Theatre’s Joseph Clayes III Theater inside the Joan at Liberty Station.
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Shor M. Masori is a freelance writer based in San Diego.