Nickelodeon today announced that following a critically lauded run on Broadway, The SpongeBob Musical: Live On Stage!, which reunites members of the original award-winning Broadway company, will simulcast on Saturday, December 7, at 7:00PM (ET/PT) across Nickelodeon, TeenNick and Nicktoons. Joining the cast is veteran SpongeBob SquarePants voice actor Tom Kenny as “Patchy the Pirate,” performing the original Sara Bareilles song “Poor Pirates.” The SpongeBob Musical: Live On Stage! was filmed for television in front of a live theater audience, capturing all-new depths of theatrical innovation, where the power of optimism really can save the world.
“I’ve had a blast portraying live-action suburban buccaneer and President of the SpongeBob SquarePants Fan Club, ‘Patchy the Pirate,’ since the character’s first appearance in season two of SpongeBob SquarePants way back in 2000,” said Kenny. “I loved The SpongeBob Musical, and I was thrilled to be included in it both in pre-recorded (‘French Narrator’) and songwriter (‘Best Day Ever’) forms! But to now have the opportunity to actually step onstage and perform alongside members of the original Broadway production is truly a unique honor. It’s ‘meta times ten,’ and I think Nickelodeon’s audience will really get a kick out of it!”
Today, Nickelodeon also revealed a first look of the special, where the stakes are higher than ever, as SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom face the potential of 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 and takes center stage.
The SpongeBob Musical: Live On Stage! cast will include Ethan Slater as SpongeBob SquarePants, Gavin Lee as Squidward Q. Tentacles, Danny Skinner as Patrick Star, Brian Ray Norris as Eugene Krabs, Wesley Taylor as Sheldon Plankton, Christina Sajous as Sandy Cheeks and Tom Kenny as ‘Patchy the Pirate’. The ensemble will include Kyle Hamilton, Katie Lee Hill, Curtis Holbrook, Jesse JP Johnson, L’ogan J’ones, Jai’len Josey, Kelvin Moon Loh, Lauralyn McClelland, Vasthy Mompoint, Bryonha Marie Parham, Oneika Phillips, Jon Rua, JC Schuster, Abby C. Smith, Robert Taylor Jr., Allan Washington.
Adapted from the beloved Nickelodeon series, the Broadway musical was hailed by The New York Times as “brilliant,” and “effervescent candy-for-the-spirit” by New York Magazine. This new musical earned its place on 2017’s “Best of Broadway” lists, including Broadway.com, BuzzFeed, Chicago Tribune, The Daily Beast, Deadline, ET Online, Forbes, Time Out New York and Variety.
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 – winning for Best Scenic Design of a Musical (David Zinn).
Acclaimed Steppenwolf director Tina Landau and the groundbreaking designers behind Fun Home, Hedwig, and Spring Awakening have brilliantly reimagined Bikini Bottom for the Broadway stage, on tour, and now for television, bringing the spirit of SpongeBob to life with humanity, heart, and pure theatricality. With an original score from some of the biggest names in pop and rock, The SpongeBob Musical: Live On Stage! explodes with energy.
The SpongeBob Musical: Live On Stage! is a musical production conceived and directed for the stage by Tina Landau, book by Kyle Jarrow, orchestrations, arrangements & music supervision by Tom Kitt, with choreography by Christopher Gattelli, produced for television by Austin Shaw, and directed by Glenn Weiss. Nickelodeon’s Vice Presidents Paul J Medford and Susan Vargo serve as executive producers, alongside Senior Vice President of Music & Talent Doug Cohn and is executive produced and overseen by Executive Vice President of Unscripted and Live Events Rob Bagshaw.
This one-of-a-kind television musical event features 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, and T.I. (Clifford Harris, Jr.), Domani Harris, and Darwin Quinn, and additional songs by David Bowie, and by Tom Kenny and Andy Paley. Additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton. Additional music by Tom Kitt. Along with “The SpongeBob Theme Song” by Derek Drymon, Mark Harrison, Stephen Hillenburg, and Blaise Smith.
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 and casting by Telsey + Company/Patrick Goodwin, CSA.
Prior to making his on-stage debut, Patchy takes a fun-filled journey through the world of SpongeBob SquarePants’ best musical moments during the original special SpongeBob SquarePants: Patchy’s Playlist, premiering Sat., November 30, at 11:30 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. During the special, Patchy highlights fan-favorite songs of the animated series, including “Ripped Pants,” “The F.U.N. Song,” “Sweet Victory,” and more.
In addition, SpongeBob’s number one fan Patchy the Pirate appears in five original short-form videos leading up to the premiere of The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage! In each, he goes behind-the-scenes, interviewing principal cast members and checking out the production, while trying to score a ticket to the big show. Catch Patchy on Nickelodeon Monday, December 2 through Friday, December 6.
The Original Cast Recording is available now from Masterworks Broadway wherever music is sold and streamed.
The SpongeBob Musical is now on tour across North America.
Since its launch July 17, 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has reigned as the number-one kids’ animated series on TV for the last 17 years, while generating a universe of beloved characters, pop culture catchphrases and memes, theatrical releases, consumer products, a Tony award-winning Broadway musical and a global fan base. SpongeBob SquarePants is the most widely distributed property in Viacom International Media Networks history, seen in more than 170 countries, translated in 30+ languages, and averaging more than 140 million total viewers every quarter. SpongeBob SquarePants is created by Stephen Hillenburg and produced by Nickelodeon in Burbank, Calif. The character-driven cartoon chronicles the nautical and sometimes nonsensical adventures of SpongeBob, an incurably optimist and earnest sea sponge, and his undersea friends.
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