The Spongebob Musical dives into the Oakville Centre

Who lives in a pineapple on stage at the Oakville Centre? It's Spongebob Squarepants: television icon, pop culture star and the unlikely feature of Burloak Theatre Group's new musical is now stage for audiences to plunge into the world of "Bikini Bottom".

Starting today, The Spongebob Musical is now playing until April 21, 2024 at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts, filled with bright lights, brighter costumes, and a whopping 36-person cast, more than half of whom are Halton-based artists and performers.

Creators of the stage show, including its Oakville-based production team, are excited for the show to open and have audiences come not just for an entertaining night out for both kids and adults - but to come and be surprised.

"The show is a lot of fun and features popular characters from the TV show," says co-producer Cheryl Cartwright. "But the style is very different. This is a proper, Broadway-style spectacular show, with big song and dance numbers, a nuanced story, and there's a balance of both comedy and drama."

Originally premiering in 2016, the show was conceived by American artist Tina Landau (who directed the original show) and written by Kyle Jarrow. Unlike most musicals, however, each individual song is written by a different popular musician to suit the different genres and characters on stage.

Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Kitt did the orchestrations, but songs are written by more than a dozen music superstars, all with original music written for the show:

• Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith
• Tony and Grammy winner Sara Bareilles (of Waitress)
• David Bowie
• Johnathan Coulton
• Lady A
• Tony and Grammy winner Cyndi Lauper
• EGOT winner John Legend
• Panic! At The Disco
• Plain White T's
• They Might Be Giants
• Grammy winning rapper T.I.

...and that's only half of the musical writers. Yet the unified orchestrations make the show sound surprisingly cohesive.

"This show is so much about the community of Bikini Bottom," says co-producer and group president Tim Cadeny, "and BOTG believes in building community through theatre. This is our first family musical since Shrek [in 2019], and it's great to be part of a show that is for all ages and see the excitement and awe the kids have when they see."

"It's not just Spongebob himself and the other lead characters people associate with the cartoon. You can look at every character on stage and see their uniqueness and their talent shine. This community of performers and crew truly came together in a special way to create something so magical you will leave the theatre smiling and singing."

That community is compromised of one of the biggest teams BOTG has ever assembled: across the on stage actors, crew, designers, musicians and theatre staff, the program credits almost 100 people to make the performance go on every night. The last time the company had a team of this size was 2017's sold-out Oliver!, also at the Oakville Centre.

Nicholas Paolone, who plays the title role, say Spongebob has been one of the most demanding parts he's ever played. Like most members of the ensemble, the entire cast (Spongebob included) has remarkable stamina in performing the physically demanding show each night.

"The biggest challenge of the show is not overdoing it. The show has to be enjoyable and inspiring, and not annoying and tacky. And that takes a lot of energy."

Paolone also echoes Cadeny's sentiments on the tight relationships the cast have formed: "This production is special because of the community it formed. As characters, we're fighting on stage, but there's a giant love from everyone behind those curtains - a kind of love that I haven't seen as an actor in a long time!"

So what's the best part about playing Spongebob? "It has to be the infectious energy of love and happiness he has. Once you start, you really can't stop feeling like it's gonna be the best day ever!"

One of the biggest challenges in producing community theatre are the constrains of time and budget. That's an obstacle that's increasingly difficult for not-for-profit groups like BOTG.

"With any big musical, the challenge is creating the world on a budget," says Cadeny. "I am so thankful for the resourcefulness and talent of our designers that made it happen. Especially on such a lavish and eye-popping show like Spongebob."

To make Bikini Bottom come to life every night, it requires a lot of co-ordination from all departments - and almost everyone working on the show is a volunteer. And the show also features:

• More than 160 costumes worn by the cast
• More than 400 lighting cues
• 250 unique props
• Hundreds of hours in set construction and painting
• A live sound effects foley artist playing all sounds live in the theatre

And none of the above includes the hundreds of hours in rehearsal for the actors and musicians. Not to mention, they also made a few dozen Krabby Patties!

"SpongeBob is a show of fun," says choreographer Madison Arnason. "After working on Cabaret last year, I was so excited to jump into a world of laughter, joy and energy. Especially after seeing the auditions last fall, it was clear early on that this show was going to be something special."

"This production is special for many reasons, but the one that comes to my mind is because of the care that was contributed to it. The cast put so much time and energy into the rehearsals, and the various incredible teams worked so hard to assist the cast in getting this show to where it needs to be."

"If you want the chance to just wake up and feel like a kid again, this is your chance to do it," says Paolone. "This show is great for all ages, and you won't wanna miss it!"

No matter your who you are, "all are welcome here" in the Bikini Bottom Way. BOTG hopes audiences will take the plunge to bring their family, friends and loved ones to come sea the show for themselves.

The Spongebob Musical

Now playing at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts until April 21, 2024.

Tickets are available online here.

Music and Lyrics by Various Artists, with orchestrations by Tom Kitt. Book by Kyle Jarrow.

Musical Direction by Jenny Peace. Choreography by Madison Arnason.

Starring Nicholas Paolone, Justin Borrow, Sydney Hoareau, Ian McKechnie, Mark Davies, Santina Hughes, Adam Rankin, Erin Ross and José Andrés Bordas.

Rated 6+, approproate for all ages. Runs 2hrs 30mins. Tickets start at $34.

Editor's note: while this story is not sponsored by Burloak Theatre Group or the Oakville Centre, the author of this story is affiliated with the show and contributed to the production on a volunteer basis.