Grand Prairie Arts Council presents The SpongeBob Musical
Directors Leslie Navarro and Spencer Bovaird
Based on the series by Stephen Hillenburg
Book by Kyle Jarrow
Original Songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sarah Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, T.I.
And Songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny & Andy Paley
Additional Lyrics by Jonathan Coulton
Additional Music by Tom Kitt
Music Director Cole Casey
Choreographer Leslie Navarro
Associate Choreographer/Silks/ Ensemble Teil Dow
Dance Captain Megan MacLellan
Costume Design Spencer Bovaird
Asst Costumer Emma Brett
Puppet Design Campbell Bovaird
Projections Design Leslie Navarro
Projections Tech Randy Gamez
Set Design Matt Betz
Sound Design Jason (Jot) Holly
Lighting Design Holli Price
Stage Manager Christopher Medina
Asst Stage Managers Cassandra Juarez and Allen Huselijc
Cast
Maxwell Skaggs
Nathan Rubens
Hope Jimenez
Joshua Hawkins
Lilee Gifford
Julian Arredondo
Campbell Bovaird
Darina Hayes
Joseph Vondra
Isaiah Navarro
Jason Pitts
Kristen Conrad
Jason English
Jason Pitts
Cam Vidales
Taylor Otey Veer
Spencer Bovaird
Asaysha Hearns
Bryson Beavers
Nathan Cabano
Lillie Galvan
Bailey Lund
Lauren Rodriguez
Kirsten Wagner
Emma Brett
Cole Lucas
Olivia Goodspeed-Harmon
Felicia McClelland
My thought on GPAC’s The SpongeBob Musical….or just possibly the Best Day Ever.
Will SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy be able to save Bikini Bottom from volcanic annihilation from the erupting Mt. Humongous? Will Plankton’s evil plan succeed? Could this musical be any more fun or charming? These are questions I never thought I would be asking myself.
A year ago this time I was a total SpongeBob virgin. Didn’t know the cartoon. Didn’t know the show. Then I fell in love with SpongeBob and saw the show seven times. When I sat down in the huge space of the Uptown Theater in Grand Prairie for my eighth SpongeBob, I thought I had seen everything that could possibly be done with the musical. However, Directors Leslie Navarro and Spencer Bovaird have taken this SpongeBob to new places.
The directors take full advantage of the Uptown’s space and make the musical an immersive experience. The immersion starts at the door when you receive a lei on the way in. There’s even a sea themed art display in the lobby and all types of SpongeBob merch for sale. The auditorium itself becomes a playground for the cast as they run, dance, and tumble all over the place in their colorful costumes delighting the audience.
Up on the stage there is almost constant motion thanks to Leslie Navarro’s joyous choreography and Matt Betz’s staircases on wheels that dominate the set. There’s color everywhere in Bikini Bottom from Spencer Bovaird’s costumes, Leslie Navarro’s clever projections and Holli Price’s lighting. I think the Navarro/Bovaird team deserves a long vacation when the production ends as their contributions to the success of this SpongeBob are innumerable and invaluable. No less important is Cole Casey the Music Director. Casey has the large cast of SpongeBob singing like polished pros in group numbers and in solos.
In addition to their other contributions, Navarro and Bovaird have a talent for casting and this aquatic journey is blessed with some very talented sea life.
In the title role Maxwell Skaggs is a cartwheeling comic marvel with powerful vocals, especially singing “Just A Simple Sponge,” and that hilarious “SpongeBob scurry” always gets a laugh. I kept thinking what a great J. Pierpoint Finch in How to Succeed he would be.
Nathan Rubens as the dimwitted and lazy, but lovable, Patrick Star is an equally gifted comic performer. Rubens and Skaggs have a wonderful rapport and their duet “I Guess I Miss You” is beautifully sung, touching, and does songwriter John Legend proud.
Hope Jimenez as Sandy Squirrel, the only land mammal in Bikini Bottom, is another terrific vocalist. Jimenez has strong acting chops as well and manages to make the squirrel with a scientific brain both strong and vulnerable simultaneously. It’s a totally endearing performance.
As the many legged Squidward, Joshua Hawkins has a field day and makes the contrary character a sort of buff Don Knotts who wants to prove himself. Hawkins brings it all home in his show stopping tap dance number “I’m Not a Loser” which brought cheers from the audience.
Campbell Bovaird, almost unrecognizable in his impressive makeup. made Plankton hilariously creepy and campy and did some formidable rapping in “When the Going Gets Tough.” As Plankton’s computer wife Karen, Darina Hayes has perfected her deadpan delivery and is the ideal accomplice for Plankton and his evil deeds.
All the Bikini Bottom inhabitants in peril from the volcano are in fine form here. Julian Arredondo is the gruff and mercenary Mr. Krabs whose daughter Pearl, played by Lilee Gifford, has a whale of a belt. There are also fun performances from Joseph Vondra as Old Man Jenkins, Kristen Conrad as the double-talking mayor, Bryson Beavers as the mayor’s protector and rule enforcing Larry the Lobster, Jason Pitts as Perch Perkins, Asaysha Hearns as Mrs. Puff, and Taylor Otey-Veer as everyone’s favorite pirate Patchy. The rocking Electric Skates are Jason English, Jason Pitts, and Cam Vidales.
The singing and dancing cheerful sea creatures in the ensemble include Nathan Cabano, Lillie Galvan, Bailey Lund, Lauren Rodriguez, Kirsten Wagner, Emma Brett, Olivia Goodspeed-Harmon, Isaiah Navarro, Felicia McClelland, and Cole Lucas who looks resplendent in that mermaid green sequined gown.
This SpongeBob is endlessly creative, and you would probably need to go twice to catch all the puns and visual jokes. Navarro, Bovaird, and Casey have created an irresistible and spectacular Bikini Bottom with big scenery, big songs, big dances, and a great big heart. It may just possibly be the “Best Day Ever.”
