SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread — Page 3

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#51

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/9/19 at 10:20am

bpstar said: "As I watched this on Amazon last night, I kept thinking "where are their microphones" as I didn't see one the entire show. Anyone know if they were singing live?"

I noticed Gavin Lee had a wire going up into his wig, it looked like (when he's being told by the mayor that he's the concert organizer). I remember on Bway a lot of mic packs were in the wigs, but the mics themselves were sometimes noticeable.

#52

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/9/19 at 12:28pm

TheQuibbler said: "My favoritetweetof the night."

Loved that. This one got me too.

Adding my voice to the chorus of praise for a wonderful recording of a wonderful show. Bravo to all involved.

#53

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/9/19 at 1:57pm

I still have my opinion that I had when I saw it onstage:

This musical while well designed- does not capture the charm of Spongebob and the show.

Spongebob is zany but it’s an almost sleepy stoney zany.
It’s not a Warner Bros cartoon with crazy high stakes and yelling and screaming constantly.

Also Ethan Slater is great but they should’ve stopped him from getting so toned. Spongebob is scrawny. And the voice he does is close but I just think these voices are what make the show.

Patrick is terrible. He misses the mark completely on the funniest character in the show.

Oh that’s a huge thing. The show was ACTUALLY funny. This is never that funny.

Squidward is great. He captures the show’s character well while adapting it in a stage setting.

And then honestly the costumes....I get the “found objects” and suggestion of characters thing but...some of them feel like “we decided to be cheap” these are creatures and animals and there’s no real suggestion in their makeup or costumes that they are.

Mr. Krabs has boxing gloves and you never get over the fact he’s wearing BOXING GLOVES.

Ultimately I get why it didn’t last. It didn’t make MY generation that grew up with Spongebob love it and feel nostalgic and that was a big flaw.

The people who enjoyed it are all people who didn’t really care for Spongebob so they can appreciate it on its own merit. Which, great but I think when they turn off both Spongebob fans AND people who would never go to Spongebob on broadway you’ve got a flop.

It makes you realize why “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” is quietly brilliant. You are 100 percent in a Peanuts cartoon. They nail every aspect of that. And partially it’s the fact that it’s vignettes and low staked.

#54

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/9/19 at 2:45pm

Compared to the other "live" events, this one was far and away the best, simply because they had a great cast and a great director and a great score and a well-adapted scenic and costume design.

But to respond to a few things:

— Did no one notice in the original cartoon that Krabs *has* boxing gloves for claws?

— Ethan cant be some skinny little waif. This is a demanding show for him, physically, and you need someone with a gymnast's body to carry it off. And his re-interpretation of SB was brilliant on so many levels. He totally nailed this, as far as I'm concerned.

— In closeup, yes, the costumes may have looked cheap, but that's part of the show's aesthetic. I mean, aside from the fact that good stage costumes are designed to speak to people in the last rows of the last balcony, these all had that relentlessly fun factor that made them all the more adorable.

IMHO, this is the way these things should be done. Not big, filmed-in-studio pieces of nonsense like SOUND OF MUSIC or overwrought, "we're so theatrical" attempts like MERMAID or WIZ. Unlike all of them, this one worked... brilliantly. Hopefully Fox and the others took notice.

#55

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/9/19 at 2:52pm

rattleNwoolypenguin said: "

Ultimately I get why it didn’t last. It didn’t make MY generation that grew up with Spongebob love it and feel nostalgic and that was a big flaw.

The people who enjoyed it are all people who didn’t really care for Spongebob so they can appreciate it on its own merit. Which, great but I think when they turn off both Spongebob fans AND people who would never go to Spongebob on broadway you’ve got a flop.

"

I grew up on Spongebob as did many of my friends who have seen this and we all felt like it truly captured the essence of the show and made us nostalgic while also allowing itself to be a different "interpretation" of the world and the characters. I don't want a Tom Kenny impersonator in a Spongebob suit. I think that's what a lot of people imagined when hearing "Spongebob the Musical" and why so many people were turned off. You are 100% entitled to your opinion, but please don't claim only non-Spongebob fans enjoyed this show.

#56

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/9/19 at 2:53pm

rattleNwoolypenguin said: "
This musical while well designed- does not capture the charm of Spongebob and the show.

...Ultimately I get why it didn’t last. It didn’t make MY generation that grew up with Spongebob love it and feel nostalgic and that was a big flaw.

The people who enjoyed it are all people who didn’t really care for Spongebob so they can appreciate it on its own merit. Which, great but I think when they turn off both Spongebob fans AND people who would never go to Spongebob on broadway you’ve got a flop."

I disagree with nearly all of this. I think the musical does a wonderful job created the slightly surreal, bizarre tone of the show. Also, I am a person who loved the television show as a preteen/teenager and also loved the musical.

Nostalgia is overrated.

Updated On: 12/9/19 at 02:53 PM

#57

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/9/19 at 2:58pm

Let us also remember that the original production was doing decent enough business when it was forced to close by the theatre's management because they wanted to renovate the space.

#58

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/9/19 at 4:16pm

Kea4 said: "rattleNwoolypenguin said: "

Ultimately I get why it didn’t last. It didn’t make MY generation that grew up with Spongebob love it and feel nostalgic and that was a big flaw.

The people who enjoyed it are all people who didn’t really care for Spongebob so they can appreciate it on its own merit. Which, great but I think when they turn off both Spongebob fans AND people who would never go to Spongebob on broadway you’ve got a flop.

"

I grew up on Spongebob as did many of my friends who have seen this and we all felt like it truly captured the essence of the show and made us nostalgic while also allowing itself to be a different "interpretation" of the world and the characters. I don't want a Tom Kenny impersonator in a Spongebob suit. I think that's what a lot of people imagined when hearing "Spongebob the Musical" and why so many people were turned off. You are 100% entitled to your opinion, but please don't claim only non-Spongebob fans enjoyed this show."

To be sure. But not enough fans of Spongebob and people who grew up with Spongebob loved it enough to keep it open.

#59

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/9/19 at 4:20pm

And I’m glad you thought they captured the tone but I thought it was played WAY BIGGER than the show goes so it felt irritating.

I don’t think it’s even necessarily the broadway show’s fault. I think you can’t capture the feeling and true humor of spongebob on stage. It’s not a funny musical and Spongebob was often and still is hilariously funny

I mean if you look at what makes the memes it’s the true surreal drawings of the characters and the bounds of animation.

#60

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/9/19 at 4:43pm

I think - comparing to the TV show - the musical gets Squidward and (particularly) Sandy right. But I agree that they didn't capture what makes Patrick great.

The tone of the musical is also more manic/goofy than the earliest/classic seasons of the show, which is what I think most people who are familiar with Spongebob are thinking of. The musical is tonally more aligned with the new seasons of the show.

#61

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/9/19 at 5:15pm

"You are 100% entitled to your opinion, but please don't claim only non-Spongebob fans enjoyed this show. "

My youngest daughter (29) was a Spongebob fan and her older sister (31) hated SpongeBob, they both loved the show on Broadway. They also had great time seeing it on TV the other night.

#62

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/9/19 at 6:00pm

GreatWhiteGay said: "I think - comparing to the TV show - the musical gets Squidward and (particularly) Sandy right. But I agree that they didn't capture what makes Patrick great.

The tone of the musical is also more manic/goofy than the earliest/classic seasons of the show, which is what I think most people who are familiar with Spongebob are thinking of. The musical is tonally more aligned with the new seasons of the show."

that's exactly it! Most millennials I know stopped watching spongebob after the first movie. The classic seasons of the show were not THIS manic and frantic. There was often a quietness to the humor. A simple idea that was really absurd and hilarious.

And ya Patrick is just awful casting.

#63

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/9/19 at 6:13pm

As someone who has never watched an entire episode, I enjoyed the show on Broadway and the television showing. As I had nothing to compare their performances too, I wasn’t bothered by how their performance may differ from the cartoon. For what it’s worth, the person playing Patrick on the tour is pretty much identical to how it was played on Broadway. So I don’t think it’s a matter of casting but more about how they were directed to play the role. Which I had no problem with.

#64

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/12/19 at 7:56pm

I watched the show on my DVR last night and it was awesome and hilarious. I loved the sets and costumes the most! The music mostly stood out and so did the dancing. My favorite parts were Bikini Bottom Day and Squidwird dancing

#65

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/22/19 at 7:40pm

I didn't like this as much as I thought I would based on how much I like the "Simple Sponge" And "Hero is My Middle Name" songs but nevertheless am watching it again right now on Nick. It's playing again on Tuesday and on 1/3.

#66

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/22/19 at 11:55pm

rattleNwoolypenguin said: "Kea4 said: "rattleNwoolypenguin said: "

Ultimately I get why it didn’t last. It didn’t make MY generation that grew up with Spongebob love it and feel nostalgic and that was a big flaw.

The people who enjoyed it are all people who didn’t really care for Spongebob so they can appreciate it on its own merit. Which, great but I think when they turn off both Spongebob fans AND people who would never go to Spongebob on broadway you’ve got a flop.

"

I grew up on Spongebob as did many of my friends who have seen this and we all felt like it truly captured the essence of the show and made us nostalgic while also allowing itself to be a different "interpretation" of the world and the characters. I don't want a Tom Kenny impersonator in a Spongebob suit. I think that's what a lot of people imagined when hearing "Spongebob the Musical" and why so many people were turned off. You are 100% entitled to your opinion, but please don't claim only non-Spongebob fans enjoyed this show."

To be sure. But not enough fans of Spongebob and people who grew up with Spongebobloved it enough to keep it open.

"

IIRC, the show closed because of the massive renovations planned for the theater and the entire building.

#67

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/24/19 at 11:28pm

This was a lot like I remembered the show on broadway. I loved it. One of the best overall live for TV performances.

#68

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 1/5/20 at 6:22pm

They've got the sing-a-long version on nick now!

#69

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 1/6/20 at 9:52am

Browneyes142 said: "IIRC, the show closed because of the massive renovations planned for the theater and the entire building."

I don't know why everyone believed this. Yes, it's what the press releases said, but it was very obviously just to save face; if you looked at grosses the show was bound to close anyway.

#70

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 7/1/23 at 8:39am

Just watched a regional production of Spongebob. The preview ran over 2.5 hours. It will tighten up but I'd love to cut this show to a tight 80 minutes. Seusical, Shrek, Beauty and the Beast and other kids shows were structurally stronger in their abbreviated "Jr." versions. The problems are the workshopped book that gives everyone something to do. And the multi-composer score that produces a lot of filler.

The opening number introduces 8 characters. 4 are essential to the plot. Spongebob, Sandy, Patrick and Squidward should definitely sing. But Mr. Crabs, Pearl, Plankton and Karen could accomplish their plot functions without their middling songs.

On top of that we get time wasting numbers for the Pirates, the Sardine Cultists, the Flying Skates band and the News Reporter. Cut cut cut.

The cast was full of energy but the show feels endless.

threepanelmusicals.blogspot.com

#71

SpongeBob the Musical: Viewing Thread

Posted: 7/1/23 at 1:57pm

MrsSallyAdams said: "Just watched a regional production of Spongebob. The preview ran over 2.5 hours. It will tighten up but I'd love to cut this show to a tight 80 minutes. Seusical, Shrek, Beauty and the Beastand other kids shows were structurally stronger in their abbreviated "Jr." versions. The problems are the workshopped book that giveseveryonesomething to do. And the multi-composer score that produces a lot of filler.

The opening number introduces 8 characters. 4 are essential to the plot. Spongebob, Sandy, Patrick and Squidward should definitely sing. But Mr. Crabs, Pearl, Plankton and Karen could accomplish their plot functions without their middling songs.

On top of that we get time wasting numbers for the Pirates, the Sardine Cultists, the Flying Skates band and the News Reporter. Cut cut cut.

The cast was full of energy but the show feels endless."

There IS a 60-minute version available through Concord Theatricals. The website lists the cast size as being the same, though, so I don't know what's been cut.

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