By Harry Forbes
This musical version
of the hugely popular Nickelodeon franchise turns out to be a most
delightful entertainment, even for a newbie like me with little prior
exposure to the TV series, or film versions, or any other incarnation
of the the story of the sweet-natured kitchen sponge and his cronies
in the underwater world of Bikini Bottom.
One quickly learns
who these characters are, even though they are played as humans not
as anthropomorphized creatures, and the cast members beautifully
convey all the requisite characteristics of their roles.
Spongebob
(endearingly embodied by Ethan Slater) toils in the Krusty Krab diner
run by skinflint proprietor Eugene Krabs (Brian Ray Norris). His
circle includes Krusty’s powerful voiced daughter Pearl (Jai’ Len
Christine Li Josey). his dimwitted but loyal friend sea star Patrick
(Danny Skinner) (“BFF” as their first duet goes), and squirrel
Sandy Cheeks (Lilli Cooper).
When a volcano
threatens the destruction of the town, the three of them contrive to
defuse it before disaster strikes. There’s also a showbiz wannabe
Squidward Q. Tentacles (Gavin Lee) a groupie pirate named Patchy (Jon
Rua) who opens each act before “security guards” evict him, Larry
the Lobster (Allan K. Washington), and more. The villains of the
piece are Sheldon Plankton (Wesley Taylor) and his wife Karen the
Computer (Stephanie Hsu).
David Zinn’s
multi-hued set and costume design must surely rank as the most zanily
and gorgeously colorful on Broadway. (The green and pink bedecked
sardines, and the pink jellyfish are eye-popping cases in point.)
Christopher
Gatelli’s choreography is highly inventive and entertaining,
especially “I’m Not a Loser,” a glitzy old-fashioned song and
dance production number for Squidward and a chorus line of Sea
Anemones.
In the action packed
second act, as Spongebob, Patrick, and Sandy attempt to ward off
disaster, Landau’s staging is really quite brilliant. With chairs,
ladders, and platforms, there’s a real sense of the intrepid trio
scaling the volcano. Her work here and throughout is comparable to
the magic wrought by Julie Taymor in “The Lion King,” the gold
standard of unlikely animated tales successfully adapted for
Broadway.
The score is an
amalgam of numbers from disparate sources (David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper,
Sara Bareilles, John Legend, and so on, but somehow it all hangs
together most engagingly from the exuberant opening number (“Bikini
Bottom Day”) to the penultimate and touching “Best Day Ever.”
Krusty and Pearl’s contrapuntal duet “Daddy Knows Best,” with
Krusty extolling money, and Pearl wanting her father’s love is a
standout. Patrick’s incongruous gospel number “Super Sea Star
Savior” wherein sardines (dressed nattily in pink and green) extol
his great wisdom.
Needless to say,
kids will love it, but there were few at my performance, and
enthusiasm was still off the charts.
(Palace Theatre,
47th & Broadway; Ticketmaster.com or 877-250-2929)
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