The SpongeBob Musical previews in Chicago beginning June 7, 2016

[Phantom4ever]

I saw this show last night with a few of my seniors. They grew up on Spongebob and were head over heels in love with the show. 

I have never seen a single episode of Spongebob, but I really enjoyed the humor, and the repeated satirizing of government inefficiencies (we are now at Code Turquoise! We are now at Code Indigo!). 

The set was gorgeous and loads of fun to look at, but I longed to looked at the beautiful 1920's-era decorations buried beneath the Spongebob set that extended well into and past the boxes. 

There were some catchy songs and my kids loved every one. I was shocked to hear that people didn't like the Act 1 rap number, because that sure caught on with the crowd. 

As for Squidworth's tap number......well the tap in Shuffle Along made those look sloppy and far too brief. I dislike when tap is sloppy and everyone's shoes are hitting the stage at different times. It may have been compounded by the Squidworth costume has four pairs of shoes on it, but I was unclear about whether all four shoes were tapping or not. And I saw what he is capable of in Mary Poppins!  He could have done a lot more so I hope they flesh out that number. 

There was plenty of adult humor in this show and plenty of little kids in the audience (who did not annoy this grumpy old grump in the least) who loved just having Spongebob and his quirky Bikini Bottom onstage. 

One interesting thing is that I told my kids to not expect the show to look like the cartoon. I brought up Beauty and the Beast and how the costumes in that show are so literal. After the show, my kids said how I was wrong and the characters all looked just like the cartoon. Obviously they don't, but that means the costume designer did well since Spongebob-raised kids didn't see the difference. 

[devonian.t]

From the released photos I like the set but really dislike the costumes- like a bad high school production of Seussical.

I know I'm being too literal, but SQUARE PANTS.  Patrick is in no way resonant of a starfish- fairly central to the character.  I expect it won't bother other people.

[Keiichi2]

Saw this today, the last day of previews before the critics weigh in.

 

I thought this was a total delight.  Gavin Lee has a showstopping number called "I'm Not a Loser".  The show is just a lot of fun.  The cast is clearly having a ball, and it carries over to the audience.  Adults were laughing just as much as the kids.  A gorgeous set, creative costumes, and just a really brilliant way to bring a surreal cartoon world onto the stage.  Lots to enjoy here.

 

Will we see SpongeBob at the Tonys next year?  I wouldn't count it out.  Not that I expect it to walk away with the big prize for the night, mind you, but I would love to see it get some nominations for the sets, and hopefully a best supporting nomination for Lee.

[LightsOut90]

Anyone happen to see it at start of previews AND end of previews, curious if they ended up cutting any songs or making any major changes.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Any updates if it's going on Bway this season or not?

[Keiichi2]

LightsOut90 said: "Anyone happen to see it at start of previews AND end of previews, curious if they ended up cutting any songs or making any major changes.

 

"

I can only speak about the musical numbers, but on Page 2 of this thread, there was a list of song numbers, and none have been added or removed since then. 

[jacobsnchz14]

Show opens tonight... very curious about these reviews.

[Leaf Coneybear]

Show opens tonight... very curious about these reviews.

Me too, I hope it does well.

[LizzieCurry]

http://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/feel-good-spongebob-musical-rumbles-toils-and-bubbles/

 https://www.timeout.com/chicago/theater/the-spongebob-musical

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/ct-spongebob-squarepants-musical-chicago-ent-0620-20160619-column.html

[ClumsyDude15]

Those were some pretty impressive reviews. I'm definitely interested to see the show, and I wish it would extend into August so I could see it, but if/when it makes its way to Broadway I will definitely give it a go. 

[Keiichi2]

For anyone interested, I decided to write a detailed synopsis of the show on the musical's Wikipedia page.  Obviously, there are spoilers, so read only if you want to know a full description of what happens in the plot.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_SpongeBob_Musical

[Mister Matt]

Those were some pretty impressive reviews.

Were they?  Sun Times was barely a blurb (and Hedy Weiss is not credible, anyway).  TimeOut mostly mentioned the score and cast/concept with just a brief overview of the plot.  Chris Jones is decidedly mixed while wearing his kid gloves (I don't think he's capable of panning any Broadway tryout), though he's compiled the most thorough review.  I do question his taste, however.  He's the only one I've known to not hate the Steven Tyler song which has been elaborately staged and shoehorned and is the least relevant number in the show.  I guess you'd call it the Bikini Bottom of the barrel.  I felt so bad for Curtis Holbrook.

[gleek4114]

Has anyone tried rush lately? How early did you get there? How many people showed up? Looking to rush a Wednesday matinee.

[MrsSallyAdams]

More reviews are being compiled here. They are mostly positive.

http://www.theatreinchicago.com/the-spongebob-musical/reviews/7952/

[Call_me_jorge]

Has anyone rushed a Saturday mat? Also do they accept cash?

[gleek4114]

Call_me_jorge said: "Has anyone rushed a Saturday mat? Also do they accept cash?

 

"

I would check the day you want to go on ticketmaster. The Wednesday matinee I'm aiming for isn't sold very well, and with discount codes everywhere, I don't see them denying rush even if 50 people showed up. $25 to fill a seat is better than an empty seat and $0. 

[nycgogetter]

show is not selling great on weekday shows, you should be able to get in

[Call_me_jorge]

Just got back from today's matinee. Jordan Roth was sitting at the end of my row and Kevin McCollum was sitting two seats away in the row in front of me. I only got a picture with Jordan though. https://instagram.com/p/BHGLIqJjYgK/

I asked him if the show was going into one of the Jujamcyn theatres and he just replied he was just viewing the show. I told him how I was interested in theatre management/producing and I was such a nervous wreck I could not get a single word out without hesitating. During the second act I was actively looking at the reactions of Jordan and Kevin just to get a sense of what many in the industry might feel about the show.

[Mister Matt]

More reviews are being compiled here. They are mostly positive.

Of course they are.  It's a tryout in Chicago.  The reviews were mostly positive for Last Ship and Amazing Grace as well.  

[indytallguy]

A fair number of dates on Goldstar for anyone looking for discounts.

[bwayphreak234]

Keiichi2 said: "For anyone interested, I decided to write a detailed synopsis of the show on the musical's Wikipedia page.  Obviously, there are spoilers, so read only if you want to know a full description of what happens in the plot.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_SpongeBob_Musical"

Wow! Thank you!

 

[disneybroadwayfan22]

BUNCH of clips

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/cbs_chicag-on-stage-with-chris-jones-20160624-premiumvideo.html

[The Josh]

Please tell me there's a "my leg!" in this show!

[Keiichi2]

The Josh said: "Please tell me there's a "my leg!" in this show!

 

"

Yes, the sound effects guy does play that sound clip from the show at one point.  When someone drops something in the orchestra pit (I forget what), we hear it come up from where the band is.

 

[Tango_Maureen2]

I saw this last weekend and it was really fun! it didn't change my life, but it was definitely a great way to spend a friday night.

there was a lot of layered humor and i really enjoyed the double entendres. 

I didn't watch spongebob growing up, but my boyfriend did and he said it was really true to the original and he really enjoyed the easter eggs for cartoon fans. 

we got rush tickets and it was really easy and we had great seats. 

with all the broadway closings last week, surely this will go in soon? 

[BroadwayConcierge]

disneybroadwayfan22 said: "BUNCH of clips

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/cbs_chicag-on-stage-with-chris-jones-20160624-premiumvideo.html"

Thanks for this, disney. I've been having as positive of an outlook on this show as I can (I was a kid during the height of Spongebob and was obsessed with it, and I love so many people in the cast), but...yikes, this doesn't look good to me.