Our favorite aquatic sponge has jumped from TV show, to movie, to video game and now you will be able to see Spongebob Squarepants in musical form in 2016 at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre. Directed by Tina Landau, this Bikini Bottom based musical will feature original songs from the likes of Dirty Projectors, David Bowie, and Panic! At the Disco. While it is based on the children's TV show, it will also have an original script that is “a rousing tale of a simple sea sponge who faces the unfathomable” according to a press release from Nickelodeon.
Other artists that are contributing original songs for the new musical include Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Jonathon Coulton, The Flaming Lips, T.I., Sara Bareilles, John Legend, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, Plain White T’s and They Might Be Giants. These artists and song concepts were curated by the musical's music supervisor Tom Kitt.The Flaming Lips have previously contributed original songs to Spongebob Squarepants projects. They wrote the original song "Spongebob and Patrick Confront the Physic Wall of Energy" for the first Spongebob movie which was released in theatres in 2004.
In a press release Tina Landau said "We will present the world of Bikini Bottom and its characters in a whole new way that can only be achieved in the live medium of the theatre. We’re bringing the show’s fabled characters to life through actors — not prosthetics or costumes that hide them — and we’re deploying some unconventional stage craft that will prove that anything can happen in Bikini Bottom.” The production will run from June 7th until July 3rd, with a plans for a Broadway opening in the 2016-2017 theatre season.
Hear the Flaming Lips's song "Spongebob and Patrick Confront the Physic Wall of Energy" below.
