Spongebob the Musical  starts out like a usual episode of Spongebob, but soon dives deep into an elaborate, high-stakes plot. 

Spongebob and his friends have to save their town from being annihilated by a super volcano. They come up with two solutions, one backed by science and the other motivated by greed. The townsfish follow the second and the town comes closer to doom only to be saved by Spongebob, Patrick and Sandy.

The BHS drama club presented the musical on April 14-16. 

Many of the performances were impressive. Eli Ward, a 7th grader, played Spongebob; J’Niya Rahman played Sandy; Aidan Ward played Squidward; Michael Karas played Patrick; Rachel Kantarovich played Pearl; Arielle Epstein played Mr. Krabs; Julian Landes played Plankton and Patchy the Pirate; and Ana Ribeiro Duraes played Karen. 

The play was fun to watch because the actors seemed to be having a great time on stage. Also, the acting was also very spot on. I could tell the actors spent a lot of time diving into the depths of their characters. They were perfectly animated just like the cartoon originals. I liked how they added heavy footsteps whenever Pearl walked on stage, and how each actor captured the tone and character of each sea creature so accurately.

Eli Ward’s performance stood out. The other actors were impressed with how such a young actor rose to the occasion. 

“He got the voice down and didn’t have to be told what to do,” Michael Karas said.

The set was very creative, I liked how they used a projector to portray the various settings. Rather than trying to improvise with hastily made props and set pieces, they were able to create a familiar feel by using backgrounds that replicated the original animation of the show. 

The set props were also interesting, as well as their execution. I liked how they used two moveable stair sets and glued cardboard boxes to them so they could actually climb the volcano.

The costumes were also very on point with the show. I understand it’s hard to accurately capture nonhuman characters, but they were able to do it almost perfectly. For example, they were able to give Squidward all four of his legs and have them all move instead of being dragged across the stage.

While the singing was good, it could have been louder at times. The background music dominated most of their singing. During the opening number, all I could hear was the music. It was very hard to hear the actors sing and listen to the introductions of their characters.

Overall, I thought this was a wonderful production of Spongebob. The set, costumes, music and actors really made it feel like I was watching an episode of the show come to life.