Theater Review: 'The SpongeBob Musical' at Woodland Regional HS

By Nancy Sasso Janis

There were lots of young children in the matinee audience of Woodland Regional High School’s production of the Youth Edition of “Nickelodeon's The SpongeBob Musical.” Tom Simonetti, the director of Valley Shakespeare Festival and the teacher of Theater Arts at the Woodland, both directed and designed the production with a colorful vision and even dressed up as the ship’s captain for the three performances.

The youth version of the musical runs approximately one hour and is presented with no intermission, making it easier for the youngest patrons to sit through. I have seen the full production a couple of times, and felt that the judicious cutting of the songs and a character or two for this adaptation by iTheatrics left a manageable but enjoyable show. And we still got to sing the theme song after the curtain call!

The high school students worked well together to tell this story of (not a) “Simple Sponge.” Claire Cummings, a junior at WRHS, led the cast in the role of SpongeBob Squarepants and maintained her loveable character throughout the performance. Dylan Tyrrell, a junior, donned some pink hair to bring Patrick Star to life. Junior Connor Doughney portrayed Squidward and managed to come down some stairs in the costume with an extra set of legs.

Freshman Isabella Peralta showed off her singing voice in the role of Sandy Cheeks and Alyssa Gillies, a senior, put on the red gloves to portray Mr. Krabs. Evan Moore, a junior, did some fine rapping as Sheldon J. Plankton with Brianna Cochran, a senior, taking on the role of his computer wife Karen in a great purple wig.

Sophomore Runiyah Albino played the teenage daughter of Mr. Krabs, a whale named Pearl and did very well. Elijah Nastu, a junior, played Perch Perkins, while senior Salvatore Santella played Old Man Jenkins. Senior Michael Strachan was the tall Larry the Lobster and Ella Bernegger, a senior, was strong as the mayor of Bikini Bottom.

The five adorable sardines were played by Casey Mulvihill, Fynn White, Gabrielle Dobos, Rebecca Armstrong, and Reese Fernandes. The members of the Electric Skate band were played by Katherine Soda, Celia Misuraca and Ollie Sweitsky. Some students playing named roles popped up in other ensemble roles.

Choreography was designed by Jillian Jackman, with musical direction by WRHS music teacher Ian Youngs. The students performed with recorded tracks. Mr. Anthony Simonetti, Visual Arts teacher Kristen Lengyel and Jared Moore constructed the colorful undersea set and there was a great collection of props.

Visual Arts teacher Chris Misuraca designed both the colorful graphics and the printed program. Unfortunately, there was a major technical issue with the projection of the graphics at the matinee, but with perseverance, it ultimately worked again. I loved the homage to the cover of the album for “Jesus Christ Superstar” in one of the slides.

Kudos to the Woodland students and the adults that work with them for an hour of fun.

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. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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.