Full Casting Announced For The SpongeBob Musical On Tour
Full casting has been announced for the upcoming North American Tour of Nickelodeon's The SpongeBob Musical.
This explosively imaginative production will launch at Proctors in Schenectady, New York this September before bringing Bikini Bottom and its beloved residents to previously announced engagements in Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto and more.
The production will feature will star Lorenzo Pugliese as SpongeBob SquarePants, Daria Pilar Redus as Sandy Cheeks, Beau Bradshaw as Patrick Star, Christopher Cody Cooley as Squidward Q. Tentacles, Zach Kononov as Mr. Krabs, and Tristan McIntyre as Plankton.
The ensemble includes Morgan Blanchard, John Cardenas, Natalie L. Chapman, Richie Dupkin, Stephen C. Kallas, Helen Regula, Méami Maszewski, Stefan Miller, Joshua Bess, mary nickson, Dorian O'Brien, Caitlin Ort, Elle-May Patterson, Sydney Simone, Ayana Strutz, Teddy Gales, Miles Davis Tillman, and Rico Velazquez.
SPONGEBOB MUSICAL 2019-2020 Tour Cities:
SCHENECTADY, NY
09/22/19-09/28/19
PROCTORS
HARTFORD, CT
10/01/19-10/06/19
The Bushnell
MADISON, WI
10/08/19-10/13/19
Overture Center
BOSTON, MA
10/15/19-10/27/19
Boch Center
PEORIA, IL
10/29/19-10/30/19
Peoria Civic Center
HUNTSVILLE, AL
11/01/19-11/03/19
Von Braun Center Concert Hall
NASHVILLE, TN
11/05/19-11/10/19
Andrew Jackson Hall
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
11/12/19-11/17/19
Civic Center Music Hall
DAYTON, OH
11/19/19-11/24/19
Schuster Center
BROOKVILLE, NY
11/26/19-11/27/19
Tilles Center
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ
11/29/19-12/01/19
State Theatre
PHILADELPHIA, PA
12/03/19-12/15/19
Forrest Theatre
TORONTO, ON
12/17/19-12/22/19
Meridian Hall
WILMINGTON, NC
01/13/20-01/14/20
Wilson Center
PADUCAH, KY
01/20/20-01/20/20
Carson Center
CONWAY, AR
01/21/20-01/21/20
Reynolds Performance Hall
LONGVIEW, TX
01/23/20-01/23/20
Belcher Performance Center
SAN ANTONIO, TX
01/24/20-01/26/20
Majestic Theatre
MIDLAND, TX
01/27/20-01/27/20
Wagner Noel PAC
PHOENIX, AZ
01/31/20-02/02/20
Orpheum Theatre
LAS VEGAS, NV
02/04/20-02/09/20
The Smith Center Reynolds Hall
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
02/12/20-02/16/20
Golden Gate Theatre
TACOMA, WA
03/05/20-03/05/20
Pantages Theatre
EUGENE, OR
03/06/20-03/07/20
Hult Center
DENVER, CO
03/10/20-03/22/20
Buell Theatre
LOS ANGELES, CA
03/24/20-04/12/20
Dolby Theatre
WICHITA, KS
04/28/20-04/30/20
Century II Concert Hall
CLEVELAND, MS
05/04/20-05/04/20
Bologna Performing Arts Center
COLUMBUS, GA
05/06/20-05/07/20
River Center For The Performing Arts
ORANGE PARK, FL
05/09/20-05/10/20
Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts
PROVIDENCE, RI
05/12/20-05/17/20
Providence PAC
CHARLOTTE, NC
06/16/20-06/21/20
Belk Theatre
HOUSTON, TX
06/23/20-06/28/20
Jones Hall
DALLAS, TX
07/07/20 - 07/12/20
Winspear Opera House
TAMPA, FL
07/21/20-07/26/20
Straz Center for the PA
For ticket information and additional dates, visit www.TheSpongeBobMusical.com.
Broadway's best creative minds reimagine and bring to life the beloved Nickelodeon series with humor, heart and pure theatricality in a neon-sparkly "party for the eyes and ears" (Daily Beast). Be there when SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom face catastrophe-until a most unexpected hero rises to take center stage. This "creative explosion" (Broadway.com) is "nothing short of genius" says TheaterMania, so bring the entire family to celebrate friendship and cooperation, and learn the power of unity and inclusion.
The SpongeBob Musical explodes with energy and features an original pop and rock-infused score by a legendary roster of Grammy Award®-winning songwriters. Led and conceived by visionary director Tina Landau (2018 Tony Award nominee) and a Tony Award®-winning design team, the production brings the spirit of SpongeBob to life with humanity, heart, and pure theatricality. The SpongeBob Musical features a book by Kyle Jarrow, orchestrations and arrangements by Tom Kitt, musical supervision by Julie McBride & Tim Hanson, and choreography by Christopher Gattelli. The design team includes scenic and costume design by David Zinn, lighting design by Kevin Adams, projection design by Peter Nigrini, sound design by Walter Trarbach, hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe, make-up design by Joe Dulude II, foley design by Mike Dobson, and casting by Stewart/Whitley.
The SpongeBob Musical is a one-of-a-kind musical event with original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper & Rob Hyman, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T's, They Might Be Giants, T.I., Domani & Lil'C and songs by David Bowie & Brian Eno, and by Tom Kenny & Andy Paley. Additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton. Additional music by Tom Kitt.
The Original Cast Recording is available now from Masterworks Broadway wherever music is sold and streamed.
Explore the depths of theatrical innovation in The SpongeBob Musical, 2018 Best Musical winner of the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, where the power of optimism really can save the world.
Original post:
The SpongeBob Musical National Tour Finds Its Cast of Bikini Bottom Residents
The traveling production will launch in September in Schenectady, New York.
Lorenzo Pugliese, Beau Bradshaw, and Daria Pilar Redus
The non-Equity touring production will star Lorenzo Pugliese as SpongeBob SquarePants, Beau Bradshaw as Patrick Star, and Daria Pilar Redus as Sandy Cheeks, with Christopher Cody Cooley as Squidward Q. Tentacles, Zach Kononov as Mr. Krabs, and Tristan McIntyre as Sheldon Plankton.
Rounding out the company are Joshua Bess, Morgan Blanchard, John Cardenas, Natalie L. Chapman, Richie Dupkin, Teddy Gales, Stephen C. Kallas, Méami Maszewski, Stefan Miller, Mary Nickson, Dorian O'Brien, Caitlin Ort, Elle-May Patterson, Helen Regula, Sydney Simone, Ayana Strutz, Miles Davis Tillman, and Rico Velazquez.
Additional tour stops include engagements in Boston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Toronto, Houston, Nashville, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, and San Antonio.
Inspired by Nickelodeon's hit animated series of the same name, SpongeBob SquarePantsis a one-of-a-kind musical event that explodes with energy and features an original pop and rock-infused score by a legendary roster of Grammy® Award-winning songwriters. Led and conceived by visionary director Tina Landau (2018 Tony Award nominee) and a Tony Award®-winning design team, the production brings the spirit of SpongeBob to life with humanity, heart, and pure theatricality.
The stakes are higher than ever as SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom face the total annihilation of their undersea world. Chaos erupts. Lives hang in the balance. And just when all hope seems lost, a most unexpected hero rises up and takes center stage.
The musical features a book by Kyle Jarrow and a score from orchestrator Tom Kitt and a variety of pop artists: Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper and Rob Hyman, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, T.I., Domani and Lil’C, and songs by David Bowie and Brian Eno, and by Tom Kenny and Andy Paley. Additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton. Additional music by Tom Kitt.
Get ready to dive to all-new depths of theatrical innovation at SpongeBob SquarePants, where the power of optimism really can save the world!
Following a Chicago tryout during summer 2016, the musical opened on Broadway in December 2017 (under the title SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical) at the Palace Theatre, where it ran through September 16, 2018.
The Broadway cast for SpongeBob SquarePants included Tony Award Nominee Ethan Slater as SpongeBob SquarePants, Tony Award Nominee Gavin Lee as Squidward Q. Tentacles, Lilli Cooper and Christina Sajous as Sandy Cheeks, Brian Ray Norris as Eugene Krabs, Danny Skinner as Patrick Star and Wesley Taylor as Sheldon Plankton.
The ensemble included Brandon Espinoza, Alex Gibson, Gaelen Gilliland, Juliane Godfrey, Jordan Grubb, Kyle Matthew Hamilton, Curtis Holbrook, Jesse JP Johnson, L'ogan J'ones, Jai'len Christine Li Josey, Kelvin Moon Loh, Lauralyn Mcclelland, Vasthy Mompoint, Oneika Phillips, Catherine Ricafort, JC Schuster, Allysa Shorte, Abby C. Smith, Robert Taylor Jr., Allan K. Washington, Brynn Williams, Matt Wood and Tom Kenny as the French Narrator.
The critically acclaimed SpongeBob SquarePants musical was named Best Musical by the Drama Desk Awards and Outer Critics Circle and earned 12 Tony Award nominations - the most nominated musical of the 2017-2018 theatre season - including nods for Best Musical, director Tina Landau, book writer Kyle Jarrow, title player Ethan Slater (in his Broadway debut), and the all-star roster of songwriters (including Sara Bareilles, Cyndi Lauper, and John Legend) who contributed to the score. The production earned 12 Tony Award nominations including best musical, equaling Mean Girls for the most of any show this season, and while The Band's Visit swept the honors, SpongeBob did score a deserved win for Best Scenic Design of a Musical for David Zinn's scenic design. The show’s director, Tina Landau, earned a Tony Award nomination for her inventive and unconventional approach to the material that humanized the characters than creating literal representations of the familiar Nickelodeon cartoon.
Visit TheSpongeBobMusical.com for the full tour itinerary.
SpongeBob SquarePants - The New Musical Original Cast Recording is available to purchase today at https://spongebobmusical.lnk.to/SpongebobMusicalRecording.
SpongeBob SquarePants is produced by Nickelodeon with The Araca Group, Sony Music Masterworks and Kelp on the Road.
From The Boston Globe:
This touring musical promises to reel in Boston’s ‘SpongeBob’ superfans
Director Tina Landau in rehearsal with Lorenzo Pugliese and the rest of the cast. (JEREMY DANIEL)
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeBob SquarePants. Except right now, he’s away from Bikini Bottom on tour with “The SpongeBob Musical,” the Tony-nominated adaptation of Nickelodeon’s beloved animated series. After a Broadway run, the zany production will play the Boch Center Wang Theatre from Oct. 15 to Oct. 27 as part of its North American tour.
Most people know SpongeBob from his animated misadventures, packaged into two 11-minute segments per episode. Often, the burger-flipping sponge finds himself in simple situations that escalate to the absurd. For instance: An episode from 2002 finds SpongeBob and his best friend, starfish Patrick Star, going door-to-door selling candy bars. SpongeBob tries to pick a tantalizing loose thread off the shirt of his snobby co-worker and neighbor, Squidward. Things unravel from there.
Instead of ramping things up one step at a time, “The SpongeBob Musical” begins with an explosive revelation. Residents of Bikini Bottom learn that a nearby volcano, Mount Humongous, is set to destroy the entire town in 24 hours. As Squidward (Christopher Cody Cooley), Patrick (Beau Bradshaw), Sandy the squirrel (Daria Pilar Redus), money-grubbing Mr. Krabs (Zach Kononov), and his rival Plankton (Tristan McIntyre) reckon with impending doom, it’s up to one optimistic sponge to save the ecosystem he calls home.
Translating 11-minute-long, action-packed episodes into more than two hours of musical theater proved challenging, director Tina Landau said in a phone interview. The New York City theater artist started developing the show in 2007 and has been working with it ever since.
“The show was not conceived as a musical,” Landau said. “It’s more like a performance art event, and a party, and a carnival, and a rock concert.” A star-studded lineup of musicians contributed to the show’s soundtrack, which includes songs by David Bowie and Brian Eno, Panic! at the Disco, They Might Be Giants, Sara Bareilles, and John Legend, to name a few.
Characters wear clothing that suggests their animated counterparts’ but doesn’t try to replicate it. Squidward wears pants with extra-green legs. SpongeBob wears his iconic suspenders. “But the intention was never to put him in a large, square, foam kind of theme-park costume,” Landau said.
In the animated series, SpongeBob plays his nose like a flute and contorts his malleable body into improbable shapes. In the musical, SpongeBob’s human actor jumps around excitedly and pulls his pet snail Gary behind him on wheels. “We have not shied away from the fact that SpongeBob stretches and contorts,” Landau said. “We have just found really theatrical ways to express that.”
SpongeBob’s first episode ran in 1999, inspiring legions of millennial superfans who grew up watching the show. SpongeBob memes continue to circulate on social media. Fans even petitioned to get the iconic SpongeBob rock song “Sweet Victory” (from the 2001 episode “Band Geeks”) performed at the 2019 Super Bowl. They wanted to honor show creator Stephen Hillenburg, who died last fall.
This production taps into that deep vein of SpongeBob fandom. “We have found that our biggest group of fans are definitely in their 20s and 30s,” Landau said.
Like so many of his peers, Lorenzo Pugliese grew up watching SpongeBob’s antics. The actor, who plays SpongeBob in the touring production, graduated from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia this spring.
“Actually, I don’t even know if I told Tina this,” Pugliese said over the phone, laughing. “But when I was a kid, in the morning, I would wake up, open up the windows and yell, ‘Good morning world, and all who inhabit it!’ ” It’s a quote from a classic SpongeBob scene. And now, Pugliese gets to yell it at the top of every performance.
Bonus: Boston theatergoers can celebrate SpongeBob with an extra treat. J.P. Licks, the ice cream chain founded in Jamaica Plain, will offer a sea salted pineapple ice cream flavor for a limited time as a joint promotional effort. Sounds like it would pair nicely with a Krabby Patty.
The SpongeBob Musical
At Boch Center Wang Theatre, Oct. 15-27. Tickets from $25, www.bochcenter.org.
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Originally published: Wednesday, August 21, 2019.
Original sources: Playbill, Broadway World.
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