I’ll be honest, my colleagues were a little confused as to why I lobbied so hard for this particular ticket. If you don’t keep up to date on contemporary musical theatre news, The SpongeBob Musical might seem like the cynical epitome of ‘[Intellectual Property]: The Musical!’ that has overtaken the scene over the past decade. But since the musical premiered in 2017, receiving a whopping 12 nominations at the Tony Awards, it’s developed a rabid cult following among which I will gladly count myself. So when the chance arrived, I couldn’t wait to pay the residents of Bikini Bottom a visit.
Everyone’s favourite rhombus-shorted porifera, SpongeBob SquarePants (played by Lewis Cornay), takes us on a tour of a “typical [incredible]” Bikini Bottom day on his commute to the Krusty Krab - series regulars Larry the Lobster, Mrs Puff and Old Man Jenkins all make an appearance here. We also set up the decades-old rivalry between restaurant proprietor Mr. Krabs (Richard J. Hunt), and owner of its failing competitor the Chum Bucket, Plankton (Drag Race UK runner-up Divina De Campo). Unfortunately, Bikini Bottom’s citizens are thrown into hot water from the get-go, with the imminent eruption of Mount Humungous spelling doom for the entire town within 36 hours. While Plankton tricks the town into building a trap - er, I mean ‘escape’ pod, SpongeBob teams up with lethargic starfish and “BFF” Patrick Star and squirrel scientist Sandy Cheeks to interrupt the eruption and save the town below.
It seems odd to say that someone is ‘born to play’ the role of SpongeBob Squarepants, but my god, is Lewis Cornay committed to this character. My heart will always belong to the original stage SquarePants, Ethan Slater, but Cornay really gives him a run for his money. He just fizzes about the stage, capturing SpongeBob’s irrepressible optimism and occasionally childlike naïveté with gusto. His vocal range is also phenomenal, particularly in the Panic! At The Disco penned ‘Just a Simple Sponge’, where it combines with a minimal but super-effective neon-sponge light show to become unequivocally one of the standout numbers of the night.
The chemistry between Cornay and Irfan Damani as Patrick is downright adorable. Their ‘BFF’ number brings to mind an undersea Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor, (right down to the tiniest hint of romantic tension), and I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t tear up a little at the silly but heartfelt ballad ‘I Guess I Miss You’ - who knew SpongeBob could be a source of post break-up catharsis? Damani has a beautiful, rounded voice that melts like butter into their harmonies together, and makes his standalone numbers a treat - although I will say that his gospel-influenced ‘Super Sea Star Saviour’, surrounded by a cult of fish followers that have proclaimed Patrick their leader in the face of the apocalypse, goes on perhaps a minute too long.
Other standouts include Chrissie Bima as high-kickin’, note-takin’ Texan squirrel Sandy Cheeks, one of the cast’s strongest vocalists and most energetic stage presences. Sarah Freer’s astonishing vocals as Mr. Krabs’ whale daughter Pearl (I know, they address the genetic weirdness too) just about blow your hair back, and Divina De Campo as Plankton adds a Frank N. Furter smarm and drawl that really makes the role her own.
Now, one of the things that really set the Broadway SpongeBob apart was its stage and costume design. Costumes for the Broadway show were largely representational rather than trying for theme-park style suits or similar - Sandy’s afro hairdo serving as a visual stand-in for her glass helmet, Patrick’s pink quiff recalling a sea-star’s points. The UK tour retains this, and in some cases improves upon it; SpongeBob’s round glasses and custom bubble shirt really give the impression of cartoon eyes and spongey perforation; Patrick sports a pink beanie and cute little star shirt; Plankton has towering hair antennae etc.
The costume for Squidward is particularly impressive, a slightly Cronenbergian four-legged set of turquoise trousers where the hind legs are rigged to move with those of the actor. I’m still not fully sold on Gareth Gates as Squidward (though his alternate in the UK tour, Tom Read-Wilson, happens to be my cousin, so I’m somewhat biased), but his tap routine during his solo number ‘I’m Not a Loser’, penned by They Might be Giants and currently on my Spotify repeat, was a clear audience favourite.
That said, a few characters and set pieces are let down by the reduced budget and need to transport set pieces from location to location. Sandy and Pearl in particular don’t get quite the same level of polish as their Broadway counterparts did - Pearl’s quiff meant to evoke the design of her cartoon whale counterpart is nowhere to be seen here, while Sandy has a hood meant to serve as her helmet, but which flops out of view too often to register.
The visuals are in general are like a sugar-rush for the eyes, DayGlo bright and constantly dynamic, and there are so many lovely aspects of the production design - punk-rock band The Electric Skates’ hair made of discarded straws, soda cans and solo cups, Mount Humongous being constructed out of plastic bottles. But if you know the original setup for some of the show’s sequences, especially for SpongeBob’s journey into the volcano, these are certainly a bit of a downgrade by comparison. There were also a few mic issues across the cast on the night, with sound often kicking in about halfway through a sentence and dulling the punch of some of the show’s best comedic moments - and this is, make no mistake, a very funny show.
But with a cast this good, these quibbles take a back seat. This is the perfect show to get kids bitten by the musical theatre bug, and it was so heartwarming to look out at that crowd knowing for many this would be their introduction to the medium. It’s bright, engaging and just plain F-U-N; the kind of show that will stick with little kids like them until they grow into big kids like me.