Kidding Around makes a splash with

The Spongebob Musical 

Dear Reader,

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

If you answered SpongeBob SquarePants, you'd be correct. 

But this past week, everyone's favorite yellow sponge traded his pineapple for the streets of Boston, as Kidding Around brought The SpongeBob Musical to elementary schools across the city after their weekend run in the Judee Wales-Watson Theatre.

And I must say, Bikini Bottom had never looked better.

Doing a tour is no small undertaking, especially for a musical that relies so heavily on its colorful world and larger than life characters. The creative team had to create a production that could travel, as well as appeal to an audience of young students, many of whom would be experiencing live theatre for the first time.

Fortunately, Kidding Around is led by numerous theatre education majors, and they knew exactly who they were performing for.

In their director's note, the show's co-directors Nathan Horowitz (Theatre Education ‘27) and Audrey Masterson (Theatre Education ‘27) wrote, "We welcome you all to the world of Bikini Bottom from the moment you step down the stairs to the Judee." And, to their credit, they did exactly that.

Before the performance even began, audiences were greeted by colorful decorations and handmade crafts everywhere in the lobby, and once inside the space, they saw ocean themed walls and columns, which helped make it feel like we truly were stepping into Bikini Bottom itself. The set continued this creativity, with vibrant set pieces that perfectly mimicked the style and feeling of the cartoon, without relying on anything elaborate. 

The props were another highlight, designed by Rylan Holmes-Shields and Rocky Bernier. From jellyfish umbrellas to giant beach balls, the oversized, exaggerated designs that seem to have been pulled straight from the television screen. They were funny, visually interesting, and ridiculous in a way that felt very appropriate for SpongeBob. 

More importantly, they're the exact sort of thing that can capture the attention of younger audiences, and when performing for elementary school students, visual storytelling becomes especially important, and Kidding Around's design choices helped make the world of the musical easy to understand and exciting to watch, even as an older viewer.

The costumes, designed by Gillian Applebaum (Theatre Education and Performance ‘27) and Kaylin Stein (Theatre and Performance ‘30) were equally successful, striking a balance between the classic character designs audiences know and love with a few modern twists, such as a futuristic techno look for Lyss Peddle (Theatre and Performance ‘29) who played Karen the Computer. Rather than attempting to recreate every detail of the cartoon, the costume designers incorporated recognizable elements while allowing the performers to bring their own personalities and styles to their characters. 

And speaking of the performers, this cast understood the assignment.

One of the challenges of bringing SpongeBob SquarePants to the stage is that the characters are so well known. Audiences are well aware of how SpongeBob moves, how Squidward complains, and exactly how Sandy Cheeks sounds. There's a fine line between capturing those personalities and simply imitating the cartoon, but Kidding Around's cast managed to find the balance perfectly.

A particular standout in my eyes was Kaylee Corley, a freshman Theatre and Performance major, whose portrayal of Sandy Cheeks was one of my favorite performances of the evening. Between her incredibly impressive vocals, perfect Southern accent, and consistently engaging characterization, she brought a wonderful energy to the role that was unlike anything else on that stage. What made her performance so successful wasn't just that she sounded or acted like Sandy, but that she seemed completely comfortable existing in the character's world. Her choices felt natural, even when talking about jetpacks or bubble machines, and she was genuinely fun to watch. She also had amazing chemistry with Junior Gonzalez (Theatre and Performance ‘28) and Albie Naiditch (Musical Theatre ‘28) who played Patrick and Spongebob respectively. 

Another performer who caught my attention was sophomore theatre education major Luka Oatman, who played Perch Perkins, Bikini Bottom's resident news anchor. While the character isn't one of the show's central figures, Luka certainly made sure they weren't forgotten. Their choices were bold, their characterization was entertaining, and they had a clear understanding of how to capture an audience's attention. They weren't afraid to take a risk and own the spotlight, which, in a musical about a talking sponge trying to save his underwater hometown, is definitely the way to go. 

However, their featured musical number, No Control, left me wondering whether the arrangement of the accompaniment was doing them any favors.

The song seemed to sit rather low in their vocal range, occasionally limiting the energy of a very entertaining performance. It's an issue that also appeared in Albie Naiditch's portrayal of Spongebob. As a musical theatre major, they brought incredible performance skills and very clear commitment to SpongeBob's recognizable voice and personality, but several of their songs appeared to sit uncomfortably low in their range.

For a character whose defining quality is his seemingly endless enthusiasm, the key several songs sat in occasionally worked against the energy of the performance. Both performers handled the material incredibly well, but I couldn't help but wonder what their performances might have sounded like in higher keys that better complemented their individual voices. 

That said, the production's ensemble singing was a completely different story.

Under the music direction of Katrina Matonti, (Theatre Education and Performance ‘27) the cast delivered some truly impressive harmonies. The ensemble numbers were full, cohesive, and some of the most impressive harmonies I’ve heard in a long time. The whole cast harmonies were some of the strongest moments of the evening and really demonstrated just how much vocal talent was present onstage.

Which is why the production's biggest technical issue was so disappointing.

Reader, I love a good musical number. I love the excitement of a full ensemble, a dramatic instrumental, and a cast giving everything they've got. 

But I also love being able to hear what they're singing.

Throughout the performance, a mix of loud musical tracks and a lack of microphones in the space made both lyrics and dialogue difficult to understand. At times, the imbalance was distracting enough that I found myself concentrating more on trying to hear the actors than on what was actually happening with the plot.

Jonah Wade (Musical Theatre ‘30) who played Squidward, particularly seemed to suffer from this issue. Much of his dialogue was difficult to make out, which is especially unfortunate for a character whose humor depends so heavily on his sarcastic remarks and comments. 

Poor Squidward. The man already has enough to complain about, and now we can't even hear him doing it.

Of course, sound balance is always difficult to manage in SPC spaces like the Judee, but the issue was significant enough to affect the audience's experience, and when performers are making strong character choices and delivering impressive vocal performances, the last thing you want is for those moments to be lost beneath the accompaniment.

And then, Reader, there was Gary.

Sophomore Theatre and Performance major Dylan Sebasco, who served as a “sea swing” for the production, appeared briefly as SpongeBob's beloved pet snail at the beginning and end of the show, offering the character's signature meow before disappearing into the wings for the remainder of the performance.

Now, I have nothing against a good Gary cameo. In fact, there's something rather charming about a character whose entire contribution is a well timed meow. However, I did find myself questioning the decision to assign the role to a swing who otherwise wasn't part of the onstage action at all. With so many principal performers already involved in the production, several of which had no individual lines or moments themselves, having one of them double as Gary might have made the character's appearances feel more naturally integrated into the show. It's a relatively small casting decision, but one that stood out in a production where so much attention had clearly been paid to creating a well thought out and cohesive world.

Despite these concerns, there's no denying that Kidding Around created an absolutely wonderful production, and set a great tone for this semester's season. The performances were strong, the design was creative, and the company had clearly put considerable effort into bringing Bikini Bottom to life. 

But, the wonky sound balance and occasionally uncomfortable vocal arrangements prevented some of that amazing work from having the impact it deserved, which was very frustrating, as there was so much to enjoy about this production I really wanted the chance to experience all of it.

Kidding Around successfully brought audiences under the sea, and I have no doubt that its colorful characters and playful storytelling made an impression on the young students who got to experience it throughout the week.

Because sometimes, all it takes is a talking sponge, cardboard pineapple, and a little imagination to fall in love with theatre.

Until next time reader,

-Miss. Broadway Bound

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*Applause Pending is an independent student publication. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Emerson College. All reviews and articles are the sole opinion of the author.*