Curtain Call: USU Eastern Theatre Department delivers in final show
Recently, the SpongeBob Musical ran its course as the USUE theater department’s final show before it inevitably closes. It marks an incredibly bittersweet moment in the department’s history, bringing an end to the department after its first show in 1895. So naturally, it begs the question: Is the SpongeBob Musical any good?
The short and spoiler-free answer is yes, it is quite frankly a wonderful performance and something I would even suggest that non-musical theater fans at least give a try. This was a performance where you could tell with every single scene that these people care about what they are doing; the actors, without fail, give their performances everything they have, ranging from the plentiful comedic bits to the more serious sections as well. Having watched it a few times, it never fails to amaze me that I was able to just look in the background and find ensemble members doing something fun, or characters who aren’t in focus having a fun moment together. Small things that are emblematic of a real care for the craft. Every actor is giving all they have and you will not be disappointed by what they have to give.
Now, from here on out, this review will contain spoilers for the production as well as some more detailed thoughts and opinions. Although the performance is over, I would highly recommend trying to watch the musical before reading the review since as a whole it is worth the watch, I’ll give some brief thoughts on the least important aspect of the musical, the story itself.
The story of the SpongeBob Musical is frankly, pretty simple. That isn’t to say the plot is bad or anything, far from it actually, but in terms of musicals the whole story is about as straightforward as it gets. The story follows our main character, SpongeBob, as he tries not only to prove himself to Mr. Krabs as manager material but also to save Bikini Bottom from an erupting volcano, while wrestling with his own self-doubts. The story has a very large ensemble cast with many you probably already know such as Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, and Sandy. Each one gets their own musical number and some time to shine within the story, although obviously they vary in how important they are to the plot as a whole.
You won’t experience any mind-shattering twists or a deep, heart-wrenching emotional beat; however, that isn’t what the show is trying to do either. The SpongeBob Musical at its core is trying to tell a fun upbeat story with a message of coming together to overcome the issues that affect you, whether they be personal or external. In that regard the show is a complete success, the comedy rarely misses its mark within the show, and even if there is a joke you’re not fond of, there is very likely another joke coming right up after it that will. Yet it never feels the need to overwhelm the audience with humor, and although many of the actions taken are inherently pretty silly, they are treated quite seriously, poking fun at itself without ever feeling like overcompensation. It’s a story that knows what it wants to do, and focuses as much of its effort into doing that thing well as it can.
Another big highlight is actually the set design of the show. The technical aspects of this show cannot be overlooked, the prop design is so charming and looks like it was ripped right out of the original cartoon, with bright colors to match the overall cheery vibe. The lighting shares that bright tone as well, and various characters often get specific lighting to help emphasize their presence, the clearest examples being Plankton, Squidward, and Pearl, who are green, blue, and pink, respectively. The costuming is also delightful to look at, with what they had available to them, they went out of their way to make sure that every costume felt entirely representative to the character. For some, like Mr. Krabs, it means going for a one-to-one outfit, with a few fun details like his claws being giant boxing gloves, while others require a more creative approach, such as Plakton. I cannot overstate how impressive it is that with every single character, the first thing that entered my mind every time is ‘of course it’s that character’!
Of course, the actors are the biggest stars of the show here, and man did they go above and beyond here. Going in I was a bit worried about how they were going to adapt characters as inherently over the top as SpongeBob in a way that felt compelling to watch and not just annoying, and to my delight they not only captured the essence of the character, but put their own unique spins on the character that only grew on me the longer the show went on. Plankton and Squidward were the biggest examples to me; they aren’t totally one-to-one with their show counterparts, but they both feel like incredibly natural extensions of the characters, and they never once get to the point where they stop feeling like their respective characters.
Most characters are quite one to one however, especially the likes of SpongeBob and Patrick. Every interaction between the two feels perfectly natural for who they are as characters, and the actors’ chemistry is on full display whenever they are together. In my eyes the two are definitely some big highlights of the musical. I was also surprised by how much a key role characters like Pearl and Sandy had, but I definitely had a great time whenever the two got some spotlight.
I won’t touch on the music too much, as it’s by far the most subjective element, but to be as objective as I can, every song feels like it could only be performed by that character. I know that doesn’t sound impressive, considering that’s kind of the whole point of musicals, but I can’t emphasize enough how fitting each song was. Every time a character broke into song it felt like the perfect encapsulation of their character, serving to forward the character’s arc or the narrative as a whole. While I can make no promises about whether the musical numbers will be to your own personal taste, all of them feel necessary, and I can’t think of a single song the show would be better without.
The SpongeBob Musical is unfortunately no longer running, but for the USUE theater’s last hurrah, it’s hard to deny that they did an excellent job. There aren’t many things I could have imagined that would have been a better final chapter.
