SpongeBob SquarePants (musical)

SpongeBob SquarePants
The Broadway Musical
Playbill of the Broadway production
MusicVarious
LyricsVarious
BookKyle Jarrow
BasisSpongeBob SquarePants
by Stephen Hillenburg
PremiereJune 7, 2016 (2016-06-07): Oriental Theatre, Chicago
Productions2016 Chicago
2017 Broadway
2019-2020 North American tour
2023 United Kingdom tour
2024 Israel
AwardsDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical, Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Musical, Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Score

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical (originally titled The SpongeBob Musical, later retitled as such for the national tour) is a musical, co-conceived and directed by Tina Landau[1] with songs by various artists and a book by Kyle Jarrow.[2] It is based on the Nickelodeon animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants and made its world premiere in June 2016 at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago.[3][4] Following a month of previews, the musical opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre in December 2017.[5]

The show was produced by Nickelodeon, The Araca Group, Sony Music Masterworks and Kelp on the Road.[6]

The musical opened to critical acclaim.[7] With twelve Tony Award nominations, it tied with Mean Girls for the most-nominated production at the 72nd Tony Awards in 2018.[8] The show closed at the Palace Theatre on September 16, 2018 due to theatre renovations. At the time of its closing, it had played 29 previews and 327 regular performances.[5] A non-Equity North American tour opened on September 22, 2019 at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, New York.[9] On December 7, 2019, Nickelodeon aired The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!, a television special of the show featuring members from the original Broadway cast.[10][11] The tour closed in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[12] The SpongeBob Musical UK tour opened on April 5, 2023 at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton and closed on September 9, 2023 at the Theatre Royal Newcastle.[13]

  1. ^ "'The SpongeBob Musical': Here Come the Songs In Behind-The-Scenes Promo". Deadline Hollywood. May 5, 2016. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  2. ^ "'SpongeBob' Musical Will Open in Chicago, With Sights on Broadway". The New York Times. August 31, 2015. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference variety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tribune was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b "SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical". Playbill. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  6. ^ Rooney, David (December 4, 2017). "'SpongeBob SquarePants': Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 10, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  7. ^ Chen, Wei-Huan (February 16, 2018). "'SpongeBob' musical underscores nautical nonsense of art vs. entertainment". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  8. ^ "2018 Tony Award Nominations: SpongeBob SquarePants and Mean Girls Lead the Pack". Playbill. May 1, 2018. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  9. ^ "The Bash is a smash! Proctors and Capital Repertory Theatre announce 2019–2020 subscription series!". Proctors Collective. March 4, 2019. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  10. ^ Greg Evans (October 17, 2019). "Broadway's SpongeBob Musical Swims To Nickelodeon For December Splash; Director, Cast To Reunite". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 17, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  11. ^ Maglio, Tony (November 19, 2019). "SpongeBob Voice Star Tom Kenny Joins Nick's SpongeBob Musical Event as Patchy the Pirate (Video)". TheWrap. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  12. ^ "PPAC's Performances of THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL Have Been Cancelled". Archived from the original on 2022-09-03. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  13. ^ "Birmingham Hippodrome Announces Upcoming Productions For 2023; SIX, THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL, and More!". Archived from the original on 2022-09-03. Retrieved 2022-09-03.