The SpongeBob Musical previews in Chicago beginning June 7, 2016

[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.

[gleek4114]

To anyone who might still be wondering, I got here about an hour before today's matinee and got a rush seat in the Right Orchestra, Row F Seat 6! 

[Hum a tune]

Saw this tonight...We had a wonderful, fun night. Ethan Slater (SpongeBob) was a perfect embodiment of the character. Since I direct shows at an elementary school and have to raise every penny that I spend, I found the ingenuity of staging and props inspiring and amazing! I wish that the inventiveness could have been used on a "more respected" source material.  I fear that it will be overlooked and dismissed because the show is not sophisticated enough. Kudos to the creative team and cast.

[LightsOut90]

For anyone thats seen it, is 5th row orchestra to close?

[Keiichi2]

I was second row orchestra, and I did not feel too close, so you should be fine.

[Leaf Coneybear]

How much are rush tickets? 

[Call_me_jorge]

25 dollars. 

My rush seat was 7th row center in the orchestra. It was a perfect view.

[Bettyboy72]

Sales for this show are really dismal. I wonder what that's about. I was talking to some people at the Goodman tonight and overall they said they just have no idea what it's about or who it's for. 

I think people are assuming it's a kids show and too expensive at that. 

I wonder how it will fare in NYC 

[KJisgroovy]

I recently did a check for tickets for a possible return visit and there were SO many available. 

It bums me out. The show is really delightful. And smart. And worthy. I hope they can figure out how to market it... and how to get the right folks talking about it. 

It's not a masterpiece... but... it's pretty swell. 

[gleek4114]

I attended the Wednesday matinee this week, and overall I found it delightful! The score fit together (almost) seemlessly. My only major change would be to cut Patchy the pirate and his song "Poor Pirates". Sure it was cute, and the security guard bit was modestly funny the first time, but overall it bogged things down and would bring a hault to good momentum.

 

On a side note, I passed on buying a t-shirt because I didn't have enough cash on me and I'm really regretting it. If anyone is going before it closes and might be able to get me one, I would gladly pay you for the shirt plus shipping. Please PM me if you can help a guy out!

[pattilupwned]

Saw the matinee today (7/3). As someone who enjoys "old" SpongeBob (1999-2002 ish), but isn't a huge fan of what SpongeBob has become, I was a little nervous about this show and that it would become a potty humor, slapsticky musical to match what the tv show has become. I am happy to say I absolutely adored this show.

First of all, the set is just amazing. I walked into the theater and felt like a little kid again. They've done an excellent job making you feel like you are in the SpongeBob universe; this will definitely have to transfer into a larger house if it moves to Broadway. I don't think it will be as successful on a smaller scale. 

Ethan Slater is doing an amazing job as SpongeBob. He uses the cartoon as a base, but definitely makes it his own. His role is rather physical - I can only imagine how tired he must be after a 2 show day. Lilli Cooper as Sandy was wonderful. She's a vocal powerhouse. Gavin Lee was a delight as Squidward. His tap dance number is a show highlight. His costume slightly reminded me of Faarquad's for Shrek. I can only imagine the time it took to get used to tapping with four "legs"

I'm not sure whether anything has changed over the course of the run - it closes in a week - but there are a few things that weren't as strong as others. The Krabs / Pearl song, "Daddy Knows Best", was a little "blah" amongst the other songs. Although Emmy Raver-Lampman belts her FACE off at the end of it, which was fabulous. 

As others have said, the Patchy stuff gets old - I'm a fan of the show and understood the reference but still feel it isn't necessary. 

There were a few mishaps today, particularly with the "boulders" that are supposed to swirl down from the side of the stage. The larger ball got stuck and they ended up just throwing a "backup" ball from backstage for SpongeBob to catch. One of the circular screens was also flickering during portions of the show. Cast handled everything like a champ, though!

Overall, if they market this correctly, this could do well on Broadway. Kids and adults alike seemed to really enjoy it, and I wish the cast and crew the best! It was a very fun show with some great tunes and a stellar cast. Very glad I got to see this in its out of town tryout!

Oh, and if anyone from the Oriental theater is reading this - good lord, please turn down the air conditioning in this theater! Everyone was freezing our butts off in there!!!!

[BeingAlive 2]

So great to hear such positive reports. Seeing that Tina Landau was at the helm gave me confidence this was going to at least be interesting. Also so happy to see Lilli Cooper getting such good notices- what a talented performer. 

[Leaf Coneybear]

I really don't understand why sales aren't doing well. Tix are cheap, kids would love it, adults would feel nostalgic, and it has great word of mouth. I saw it and I plan on seeing it again before it leaves Chicago. At any rate, I hope it does better on Broadway. 

[Scarywarhol]

Mostly bumping this thread so I remember tomorrow to post in more detail about how freaking wonderful this hugely imaginative and charming show is. It's like Peter and the Starcatcher meets a Radio City spectacular. (And the house was pretty full for the Holiday weekend in that huge, gorgeous house.)

[TotallyEffed]

I saw the show this week and fell head over heels in love. It's incredibly entertaining, hilarious, moving and extremely theatrical. Don't poo-poo this because it's SpongeBob. This is an amazing night at the theatre, I was grinning ear to ear the entire time. The young man playing SpongBob is an absolute star. This felt like a huge hit to me, so I'm a little shocked to hear it hasn't been selling out in Chicago. I hope it does very well in New York. I could see this taking a few Tonys.

[Call_me_jorge]

Scarywarhol said: "Mostly bumping this thread so I remember tomorrow to post in more detail about how freaking wonderful this hugely imaginative and charming show is. It's like Peter and the Starcatcher meets a Radio City spectacular. (And the house was pretty full for the Holiday weekend in that huge, gorgeous house.)

 

"

I'm guessing you forgot to post your thoughts 

[wssinsider]

Apparently the show is done after the Chicago run. Some of the producers are scared after the disastrous sales. Cast got told the Broadway run will be postponed. 

[Scarywarhol]

I hope that is not true; the marketing campaign in Chicago has been so poor and so generic, giving no sense of what the show is. 

Also, have not forgotten to post, but work has completely swallowed me. Large post about everything I saw in Chicago later. 

[disneybroadwayfan22]

But, wouldn't this do better on Broadway because it is Spongebob?

[LightsOut90]

wssinsider said: "Apparently the show is done after the Chicago run. Some of the producers are scared after the disastrous sales. Cast got told the Broadway run will be postponed. 

 

"

This is 100% not true. They are aiming to start Broadway previews in February. 

 

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Do you know what theater?