Review: The SpongeBob Musical Tour at The Bushnell

All photos by Jeremy Daniel courtesy of The Bushnell

Dedicated to CJ

Hartford, CT - THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL, Broadway’s Award Winning Hit, opened at The Bushnell in Hartford on Tuesday evening. Bushnell patrons young and old enjoyed a colorful trip to a magical Bikini Bottom that encompassed the Bushnell stage.

The musical is of course based upon the iconic television series SpongeBob SquarePants by the late Stephen Hillenburg. The list of composers that wrote the original songs is long and impressive: Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles (WAITRESS) Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauber & Rob Hyman, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, T.I., Domani & Lil’C. The score also includes songs by David Bowie & Brian Eno, Tom Kenny & Andy Paley with additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton and music by Tom Kitt, who also is credited with the orchestrations and arrangements. Of all of these, my twenty-something son/musician was most impressed by the works of Mr. Coulton.

This musical is more of a SpongeBob experience, in that it is colorful, bright, loud and all encompassing, all in a good way to my mind. It didn’t seem to be too much for the young fans in the audience, but some of the elder ticket holders may have been a bit overwhelmed with all the bells and whistles that were conceived and directed by Tina Landau.

David Zinn (FUN HOME, THE LAST SHIP) was in charge of both the scenic and costume design; the former was fanciful and bright and the latter were thankfully not literal, but creative and colorful nonetheless. The lighting design by Kevin Adams (THE CHER SHOW, HEDWIG) was a wonder to behold, and made the performance even more special for me. The big projections designed by Peter Nigrini (DEAR EVAN HANSEN) worked well with the props and scenery to seal the deal, especially to suggest Mount Humongous. Walter Trarbach was in charge of the sound design, with Mike Dobson taking care of the frequently-heard Foley design. The fanciful wigs and hair design was done by Charles G. Lapointe, with make up design by Joe Dulude II (WICKED.)

The Town sings the strong opening number, that may be familiar to Broadway fans, entitled “Bikini Bottom Day,” written by Mr. Coulton. SpongeBob and Patrick have a duet on “BFF” written by Plain White T’s. Mr. Crabs, the one wearing the oversized red boxing gloves, sings a duet with his whale daughter Pearl on “Daddy Knows Best,” written by Mr. Ebert. “Super Sea Star Savior” by Ms. Adams, is performed by Patrick wearing a cut-off pink bleach container on his head (which repeatedly reminded me of the black headgear of the high priests in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR) and a chorus of pink and green sardines. I caught a reference to FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, as well.

The second act opens with “Poor Pirates” by Ms. Bareillies, performed by a host of pirates that had taken seats in the audience at the end of intermission and led by the character of Patchy the Pirate (Morgan Blanchard) who had tried to be a part of the show during the first act. The Aerosmith composers came up with “Bikini Bottom Boogie” that featured the band The Electric Skates, Pearl and fans of the skater band. A highlight of the second act was the high energy tap number “I’m Not a Loser” written by They Might Be Giants, with the four-legged Squidward in green and a group of sea anemones in red. The finale reprises the opening number, followed by “and of course ‘The SpongeBob Theme Song’ to the delight of hard-core fans and just about everyone else.

The title character is played to perfection by Lorenzo Pugliese, who puts boundless energy into the role and a multitude of moves that would rival any gymnast. His comic timing was spot on and he sang well all of his numbers, especially “(Just A) Simple Sponge.”

Patrick Star is brought to life by Beau Bradshaw and he got to fly above the stage. Cody Cooley, a Rider University graduate, managed to dance in a most challenging costume with four legs in the role of Squidward Q. Tentacles. Daria Pilar Redus was adorable and smart as the squirrel Sandy Cheeks in her first national tour. Zach Kononov (tour of HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS) channeled the greedy character of Mr. Eugene Krabs and Tristan McIntyre, who admits that he accidentally graduated a year early from the USC of Dramatic Arts, was the villain Sheldon Plankton.

Meami Maszewski and Stephen C. Kallas played security guards and Dorian O’Brien was Gary. Karen the Computer was played by Caitlin Ort (tours of ELF and A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS) and Helen Regula (ELF national tour) was the mayor of BB in a great red coat. Ms. Regula is the understudy for the role of Patrck. Mrs. Puff, the teacher who was sorely underused, was played by Natalie L. Chapman, an Ohio University graduate, in a memorable outfit. Mr. O’ Brien returned as Larry the Lobster, Ms. Maszewski (who played Medda Larkin in UFOMT’s NEWSIES) played the fun role of Pearl the whale, and Mr. Kallas played the spry Old Man Jenkins. Richie Dupkin was Perch Perkins in his national tour debut, Kenneth Ferrone was the voice of the French Narrator, and Ryan Blihovde, a lifelong SpongeBob fan who was in the national tour of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, is double credited as the Foley Fish. Joshua Bess (RENT 20th Anniversary Tour as Roger,) Stefan Miller (national tour of RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER,) and Miles Davis Tillman were the sure-footed skateboard riders in the band The Electric Skates. In the ensemble, portraying a vast array of undersea creatures, were Sydney Simone, Ayanna Strutz, and Rico Velazquez.

The songwriter Tom Kenny has voiced SpongeBob since the beginning and is the show’s voice director. Patrick Hoagland is the music director for the show with John Mezzio as the music coordinator and music supervision by Julie McBride and Timothy Hanson. The delightful choreography from hip hop to tap numbers was designed by Christopher Gattelli (NEWSIES, THE KING AND I); ensemble member Elle-May Patterson is dance captain and Mr. Bess is the skateboard captain, a position in not many productions. Mr. Hoagland (tours of FINDING NEVERLAND, ELF THE MUSICAL) conducts the orchestra while playing keyboard and charmingly interacting with the cast throughout the two acts. Cameron Tragesser is the associate conductor/keyboard player, guitar players were William Bivona and Garrett Gleason with Ryan Crum on bass. Ryan Blihovde got to sit onstage in a large bubble as the Foley Artist and drummer and Chris Karabelas took care of the percussion needs. Anthony Rodriguez was on reeds, Keaton Viavattine played trumpet, Johathan Dowd was on trombone. There was a pre-show concert that included more and more musicians during the fifteen minutes of music.

There was a candy bar in the lobby for the youngest patrons and the young at heart like my driver. Alas, there were no Crabby Patties for sale, although there were blow-up Sponge Bobs available outside.

You can go under the sea to Bikini Bottom at the Bushnell through October 6 and I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts well over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.

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