When you think of childhood cartoons it’s more than likely that you will think of the iconic cartoon Spongebob Squarepants. Thousands of people grew up watching Spongebob on Nickelodeon throughout their childhoods. But most of those people may not know that their favorite cartoon was turned into a musical in 2017 which played on Broadway from December 4th 2017 to September 16th 2018. Even though it is now closed on Broadway, Spongebob  the Musical is now open at Wheelock Family Theatre in Boston from October 5th to the 27th! And this is something that you absolutely can not miss out on!

The show follows Spongebob, his friends, and neighbors as they try to save Bikini Bottom from being destroyed by Mt.Humongous, which is an active underwater volcano threatening to erupt. Throughout the show Spongebob tries to prove that he is more than just a “simple sponge” as he attempts to save his beloved home with the help of Sandy and Patrick. 

The cast is led by Max Conner (Spongebob), Krystal Hernandez (Sandy Cheeks), and Dashawn McClinton (Patrick Star). Then filling out the rest of your favorite characters are Mark Linehan (Squidward), David Jiles Jr (Mr.Krabs), Reese Krebs (Pearl Krabs), Robert St. Laurence (Plankton) and Lisa Kate Joyce (Karen the Computer). The show is directed by Nick Vargas, choreographed by Joy Clark and music directed by Jon Goldberg. The music of Spongebob is written by many well known artists including Panic! At the Disco, David Bowie, Aerosmith, John Legend and many more!

I had the opportunity to attend Spongebob at Wheelock Family Theatre during their opening weekend on October 5th and it was incredible! The show’s design was absolutely breathtaking, welcoming you into Bikini Bottom with bright colors and flashing lights. The show takes on a 70’s vibe with their sets and costumes which sets this production apart from others. The technical aspects of the show really gave it a fun cartoon feel. Even having sounds for when certain characters walked around. As an audience member it is very clear that Wheelock’s team put a lot of time and effort into making the show visually pleasing for all ages.

The cast of the show itself is beyond talented, drawing you into their world from the minute that the show starts. Max Conner as Spongebob is nothing but a ray of sunshine, he has you rooting for Spongebob throughout the whole show and his joy is beyond contagious. When he sings “Just a Simple Sponge”, Conner proves that he is anything but that, hitting the climatic note at the end of the song with ease. Krystal Hernandez as Sandy Cheeks is a powerhouse, leaving you in awe with her vocals and her acting. Hernandez has you feeling all the right emotions as you follow her journey as Sandy during the show. Then Dashawn McClinton as Patrick Star has you grinning ear to ear, whenever he is on stage you know that you are in for a good chuckle. McClinton has you laughing everytime he walks onto the stage, and immediately makes Patrick one of your favorites. The same thing goes with Mark Linehan as Squidward, the audience immediately falls in love with the stubborn squid the moment he appears on stage. Linehan got one of the biggest applause of the night the moment he sang the last note of “I’m Not a Loser”.  Another big applause was also given to the father-daughter duo of David Jiles Jr as Mr.Krabs and Reese Krebs as Pearl Krabs after they finished their duet, “Daddy Knows Best”. Their voices blended together so beautifully and along with their acting made “Daddy Knows Best” one the audience’s favorites. Then the other villainous duo of Robert St. Lawrence as Plankton and Lisa Kate Joyce as Karen the Computer had the audience roaring with laughter the entire night. They shared amazing chemistry which kept the audience engaged whenever they were on the stage. The ensemble was electric, keeping the audience alive and entertained. As they worked their way through the story they kept the audience entertained and lit up the stage with their animated facial expressions. They truly brought Joy Clark’s choreography to life and made the dancing one of the highlights of the show. Overall, the whole cast’s energy was absolutely insane. Through their animated facial expressions and movements they really made this a fun night at the theater! As an audience member you could tell that everybody on that stage was having the time of their lives, which really radiated into the audience.

Personally, I absolutely adored this production of Spongebob the Musical. Wheelock’s team made it so special that by the end of the show my cheeks hurt from smiling. This show is an absolute must see if you are in the Boston area. From the stunning design to the electric cast this show is an absolute joyride. There are so many elements about this production that make it special and set it apart from previous Spongebob productions. The minute you walk into the theater you know that you are in for a good time! 

I was also lucky enough to get the opportunity to call and talk with one of my close friends and cast member of Spongebob, Felix Grigsby. Felix is currently a 10th grader at the German International School of Boston. He is a competitive dancer at Mass Motion Dance and is trained in various styles of dance including tap, jazz, contemporary, ballet, modern, hip-hop, and acro. In Spongebob, Felix is playing the role of Buster Bluetang and is an active member of the ensemble, playing 7 other roles as well. This is definitely not Felix’s first show, having taken on many roles including Leaf Coneybear (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Angus/Caterpillar 1 (Alice By Heart), Roger (Grease), Ancestor (The Addams Family) and Tommy (Matilda). Felix also speaks fluent German and believes it’s a very important skill to be able to speak multiple languages!

You can read my full interview with Felix below:

Holly Nimblett: How did you first get into theater?

Felix Grigsby: I got into theater by watching one of my close family friends do community theater and then also my aunt’s godson, he was really into theater in high school so I would go to all of his productions and through watching the two of them that’s sort of what got my interest. Then I actually got into doing theater, sort of right after Covid, like post-pandemic. I’d been dancing at my dance studio for a few years and then I went to Wheelock during the summer and did Shrek the Musical Jr and I was Pinocchio. It was really fun! And that sort of got me into Wheelock’s shows.

HN: What has been your favorite part of the rehearsal process for Spongebob?

FG: I would say my favorite part so far is meeting all the people. There is so many people that are so incredibly talented and so kind and there are so many different people from so many ages and backgrounds. That’s something I love about Wheelock, there is just so much diversity within every cast and it is always very interesting to get to know people.

HN: What is your favorite part of doing the show?

FG: My favorite part of doing the show is all the different characters I get to play! So Spongebob is a cartoon right, and so there are all these like random characters that don’t really add much to the plot. But they are still there because of the bit, I guess. So playing all of those random characters is really fun!

HN: What is something you consider special about this show?

FG: Something I think is special about this show specifically, would probably be the fact that a lot of people have a connection to it and the TV show at least, is something that a lot of people grew up watching and I think a lot of people are going to be brought back to that sort of nostalgia. I also think it’s going to be a fun show because there is a lot of audience interaction “spoiler alert”. There is a good amount of audience interaction which is going to be fun, and I’m excited for that to happen!

HN: What is it like balancing school and the show? 

FG: Ooo, that’s a really good question! Wheelock is actually doing a research project on the student performers and how that works so I love that you’re asking that question! So a lot of the time I will go home after school, and depending on how early I’m called I have around one to one and a half hours at home before I have to go to the theater. So it’s not a lot of free time, I guess. I’m going to school in the morning, then I have to do homework and then I go to rehearsal and go to bed, so there’s not a lot of free time. But I think it’s good because they’re two separate places and I have the time in between where I can get my homework done and unwind before I get focused again to go to the theater.

HN: Do you have any pre-show rituals? 

FG: I do, it depends. Usually for me a ritual is also putting on makeup and getting into costume, that really helps me get in show mode. Then I also listen to music usually. Then honestly, just talking to my castmates, I like to catch up with them on their days and how it’s been. We only see each other when we are at the theater so I think that really helps us get ready!

HN: What music do you usually listen to?

FG: Recently, I’ve been getting into Noah Kahan and Hozier a lot! But I also love some show tunes!

HN: How has Spongebob compared to other productions you have done at Wheelock?

FG: It’s slightly different because in all the other shows I played one character the whole time. I’ve had one costume, and it’s very much like I’m focused on helping the story move along and how my character also has sort of an arch. Then in this show, I’m playing seven different people so it’s a lot more of: What is the character doing in the scene? What are they trying to accomplish in the scene? Or who are they trying to help accomplish something? So it’s a lot less specific to each character, it’s a lot more general.

HN: Do you have any advice for people looking to get into theater?

FG: Honestly, just go for it! Really, it does help to take voice lessons and dance lessons and acting lessons and having all of those people helping you do that. But I think at the end of the day it’s really about getting out there and auditioning and doing shows, as many as you can. That’s the only way you’re really going to get better at it. Of course, you’re going to get better at the individual things in the lessons but in the end it’s about doing them all together and I think the best way to practice that is through doing shows. So the more shows you do, the more experience you’ll have, the more knowledge you’ll have about this industry. So I think, honestly just doing it as much as you can! And seeing other shows too, that’s really important because you can learn so much by just watching people. Especially if you know somebody from a show or somewhere else that you’re watching them in the show. There is so much I think that can be learned from that!

HN: And finally, why should people come to see the show?

FG: I think people should see the show because it’s a really, really fun show! And if you have seen Spongebob or grew up with Spongebob I think it’s a really good way to bring yourself back into that world. Also, the music is so fun! I didn’t actually know this before the rehearsal process started but each of the songs is written by a different artist! So there is a song by Aerosmith, a song by Sara Bareilles, and many more like well-known artists. There are so many songs in different styles so I think that’s really fun! The songs are just really fun! If you’re looking to have a good time at a show I think this is the place to go!

What are you waiting for? Go buy your tickets to The Spongebob Musical at Wheelock Family Theatre using this link: https://www.wheelockfamilytheatre.org/performances/current-season/the-spongebob-musical/