SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS Previews — Page 5

WhizzerMarvin said: ""Pure, unadulterated, whimsical, stupid fun!

At it's best, it's brilliantly stupid.

At it's worst, it's messy and drags a bit."

I completely agree with all three of these statements. Judging by what I've recently learned from watching the cartoon, Spongebob has never been a plot-heavy enterprise. Though made so that children can enjoy it, the tv show is an existential mood piece with a happy, positive bent.

My first association with Spongebob was in college when the stoners would pass around a joint and laugh their asses off in the wee hours of the morning. Judging by the smells wafting off the crowd walking into the Palace last night, I think more than a few of my college classmates were in the audience last night, ha. And really it's the perfect show to smoke before if you're so inclined. You'll be a little more mellow to deal with the messy spots and it fits with the episodic-Alice-in-Wonderland-trippy journey Spongebob leads you on."

Whizzer... I always assumed you were much older than that, but I guess we're about the same age. I wonder if we might even be friends in real life. lol.

Evans2 said: "Anyone else concerned the show isn't selling well?The entire month has pretty much been up on TDF. Even when a date sells out, more seats get loaded on."

It was on Goldstar for the entire run in Chicago. Theatre was half empty some nights. I'm not sure who this is marketed to. Also, Broadway is just too expensive for families, even with discounts. The reviews here make it seem fun and enjoyable, but its not screaming must see.

Bettyboy72 said:
It was on Goldstar for the entire run in Chicago. Theatre was half empty some nights. I'm not sure who this is marketed to. Also, Broadway is just too expensive for families, even with discounts. The reviews here make it seem fun and enjoyable, but its not screaming must see.

Right --- THAT'S why Lion King, and Aladdin, and Wicked, and Anastasia are all playing to empty houses --- because families don't go to Broadway.Also, the size of Chicago audiences isn't relevant to Broadway. Last I checked, Chicago isn't exactly a worldwide tourist destination.

I saw this last night and have been dreading it ever since it was announced for the fall. I have never been a fan of the TV show and every time that theme song comes on my skin starts to crawl.I agree with Bwayphreak, don't judge it till you have seen it!

That being said, I found it pretty hard to resist this show. It isn’t perfect, and I think the having different people write the songs was a mistake and especially in act 1 felt like the songs were often totally unrelated to one another. That being said I did find some of the score pretty catchy and I’d be lying if I didn’t have “Best Day Ever” stuck in my head.

I liked the staging and its old-fashionedness. It felt like it was something kids might be re-creating at home. This is not a super slick musical, it’s a little rough around the edges and I liked it for that. It's low tech creativity was often such a delight!

Ethan Slater is absolutely fantastic and I hope that we see him in lots of shows after this. Gavin Lee was an absolute standout and I thought he had the best musical number we’ve had since Something Rotten’s A Musical. I’ve always loved Gavin who was great in Top Hat in London so happy to see him get a tap number here!

Listen, the show has about 20 minutes of plot, and does amble along at a slow pace at times, but the cast and audience’s energy is infectious. I think Nickelodeon could have gotten away with a lot less effort (a la Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and still made money, but they put some time and creativity into this and thanks to some great casting I think the show is a success.

I just came back from the show and I really didn't like it. I can't put my finger on why because looking back it had all the qualities of a really good musical, like amazing actors, unbelievable sets, great costumes, amazing direction, some catchy songs, and was "fun," but for some reason I just did not like it. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea.

I saw no interaction, but I'd guess orchestra?

wicked4l said: "They come into the orchestra and take a selfie with an audience member, for my performance it was probably 8 rows back center aisle, house right!"

Thank you so so so much! I hope you enjoyed the show! :)

A friend won, and was in the mezzanine.

Have they fixed Spongebob's costume yet? The plaid shirt is hideous. He needs those white sleeves to immediately read as Spongebob.

Last night it got out at about 10:20.

Caught it tonight. I was hoping, as many have said on here, to be pleasantly surprised but overall I found it cloyingly cute, clever and annoying.

It started out great with the pirate.. John Rua.. who for me was the highlight of the evening. It's a shame he was only in the beginning, the opening of act two and the end. If they sustained the tone of the pirate, I may have been a SpongeBob convert. He was delightful. It was great seeing so many actors making their Broadway Debut.

As for the rest of it, I have never seen a Sponge Bob Episode and I wasn't sure if we under the sea or on land because the characters were sponges and octupuses and plankton. I found it very confusing. The ten year olds behind me were guffawing loudly with a sense of recognition. I had no idea what they were giggling about as nothing funny was happening at these points. Never having seen an episode, I felt left out of the joke.

Act 1 is twenty minutes too long and I looked at my watch. Thankfully I stayed and there were some charming surprises and really great numbers in Act Two... Gavin Lee's Tap Number.. the Pirate opening of Act two that would make great Tony Award Numbers... the rock number... but it just didn't sustain my interest for its 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Guffawing ten year olds and Sponge Bob Fans will probably love it. The director, set and costume designer created a whole new world on stage even if I was confused by it. Everything is played out front as in a theme park show. It has some style but overall It did not hold my interest.

I couldn't help thinking this was the theatre that housed Sweet Charity, Applause and La Cage. Interested to see how the critics will react to this one.