Laredo College invites families to take a trip to Bikini Bottom for “The SpongeBob Musical: Theatre for Young Audiences Edition” at the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center Theater on April 11 and April 12.
Admission is free with a valid Laredo College ID, and general admission is $10. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets will be sold at the door.
Based on Nickelodeon’s popular cartoon series by Stephen Hillenburg, SpongeBob SquarePants will make his appearance live on stage alongside his friends bringing two nights of laughter, Krabby Patties and all manner of underwater hijinks with everybody’s favorite yellow sea sponge. According to LC Music Professor Dr. Joseph Crabtree, many of the show’s favorite characters will be there, including Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Plankton, Sandy and more.
“The show is a delightful story of community reacting to events, and the story is really uplifting and delightfully entertaining,” Dr. Crabtree said. “He is shown as a real human, helping others in Bikini Bottom face the challenges, or posing them, in Plankton’s case.”
With locals taking on the roles of Bikini Bottom’s loveable cast, audiences can expect real heart and soul that will bring forth much of the show’s creativity and appeal. As a musical, the songs and dance pieces accompanying the visuals will add to the spectacle that embodies every episode in the long-running series.
Dr. Crabtree said that he watched the musical years ago when it originally came out and fell immediately in love. This was the foundation for LC’s decision to produce its rendition and the great deal of interest from the community speaks to its relevance and accessibility.
“I relate really well to Sandy the Squirrel. Not being a Bikini Bottom native, she has adapted to life in the underwater community and always does her best to fit in and make things better for SpongeBob and the gang,” he said. “Watching this outsider work to save her community and make it better really speaks to what types of things we all can do here in the real world. So, this production will be a great time spent with friends we know, and Laredo’s community will really enjoy it.”
Based on the series by Stephen Hillenburg and book by Kyle Jarrow, the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) Edition of The SpongeBob Musical was developed by The Coterie Theatre, Kansas City, MO in association with Nickelodeon and Concord Theatricals. The TYA Edition received its world premiere production at The Coterie Theatre in November 2021.
For more information about LC’s Fine Arts and Communication Department, email david.mcginnis@laredo.edu or call (956) 794-4403.