Review: The Spongebob Musical – Youth Edition

'Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?’ If you don’t immediately know the answer to this question, then it’s entirely possible that you might not be a regular cartoon viewer or don’t have children who gorge on animation. The answer to that question is, of course, Spongebob Squarepants, the titular hero of the hugely popular noughties Nickelodeon cartoon and cult Broadway musical. It’s now available in a slightly pruned youth edition.

We’re in the underwater community of Bikini Bottom where our hero, Spongebob, harbours dreams of one day becoming the manager of the Krusty Krab restaurant, where he works. When a sudden and unexpected tremor from nearby Mount Humongous terrifies the townsfolk, the boo-hiss baddies Plankton and Karen (yes, Karen) hatch a plan to leave the township, leaving it down to our hero to convince people to stay and try to save the town. Will our yellow and porous hero manage to avert disaster? Will he finally get to be with Pearl, the girl of his dreams? This is a bouncy family musical so, duh, of course he will, but it’s a heck of a lot of fun finding out.

Drama teachers are frequently posting online about the need for new or exciting shows that could be mounted as a complete school production. Look no further. While the songs might not be known to all and sundry, the enormous popularity of the cartoon series and the show’s affable and heartfelt messages make it an ideal candidate. Even reading Kyle Jarrow’s script gives a sense of the riot of colour and fun that a production could be. Ideal for a cast of around 20 but potentially suitable for many more (think clusters of sea anemones), The Spongebob Musical would go down a storm with the young and the very young.

Curiously, the music itself is a patchwork of contributions from different artists. Rather than pilfering the back catalogue of any one artist, here a score of original songs by erosmith, Sara Bareilles, Cyndi Lauper and The Flaming Lips (amongst others) help tell the story. The whole venture, cunningly trimmed, to make it more viable for younger performers positively thrums with good energy. You’d probably need a tireless wardrobe and set design team, but The Spongebob Musical might just be the new school show you never knew you needed.