The SpongeBob MusicalThe Program Cover
Book by Kyle Jarrod
Original Songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coultron, Alex Elbert of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, TI, and songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny, and Andy Paley. Additional Lyrics by Jonathan Coultron, Additional music by Tom Kitt.
Over the weekend I went to the matinee performance on the last day of production for the University of Minnesota-Duluth Department of Theatre production of The SpongeBob Musical at the Marshall Performing Arts Center. Even before the musical begins, there’s some activities to get you in the mood in the lobby. You could make yourself a pirate hat, or your own SpongeBob and much more. There was lots of signs up on the lobby about the sustainability of the scenery and costumes, which was a fun read before the show began.
The stage was very fun looking at the top of the show. At the start of the show, all of the action was taking place in
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| The stage, before the musical began |
Director/Choreograher Matthew Wagner help lead the cast into the fun and zaniness of the script. So many moments that had us all laughing out loud. Such a fun joyous musical. I don’t even think hilarious is the right word to describe this production. It was great to let the guard down and enjoy the fun ride with this gang from Bikini Bottom.
You do not need to be familiar with the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants to enjoy The SpongeBob Musical. It’s a great stand alone story. The town has discovered that the volcano will erupt at sunset tomorrow. They need to find a way to stop the volcano or relocate. The evil Sheldon J. Plankton and his wife Karen have a scheme on how to save the town and hypnotize the residents so their restaurant will be the only one in business. It’s up to SpongeBob, Patrick (the starfish) and, Sandy Cheeks (the squirrel) to stop the volcano and save the town. Sheldon and Karen would try everything to stop them, including creating an avalanche.
The entire cast had so much energy and cranked up the fun meter to 120%. There are some cast members that I should mention for their outstanding performances. Noah Jetland as SpongeBob SquarePants, Tate Nowacki as Patrick Star, Erik Rasmussen as Squidward Q. Tentacles, Emerson Spenser as the French Narrator, Solymar Romero as Patchy the Pirate, Phuong Nguyen as Karen the Computer, Hope Davis as Sandy Cheeks, and let’s not forget Aaron J. Dumalag as Sheldon D. Plankton. Aaron J. Dumalag as Sheldon D. Plankton, to quote Rupaul “he had uniqueness, nerve, talent and charisma”.
From the pre show to the curtain call, this show was a blast!
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| The stage, during intermission |
Scenery was designed by Curtis Phillips, Costumes by Caitlin Quinn, Hair & makeup by Morgan Royals, and Lighting was designed by Richard Tamayo. These four artists helped to create the world of Bikini Bottom and bring it life with such wonderful results.
UMD Theatre has announced their 2026/2027 season. The season begins with MacBeth in October, Everybody in November, Dance Works in December, Rhythm, Rum, Rise in February, and Sweeney Todd in April. Looks like a fun season.
