This November, keep your secret formula safe and get ready, because everyone’s favorite adorable yellow sponge, genius squirrel, shorts-wearing starfish and more are coming to Cabrillo College’s Crocker Theater for SpongeBob: the Musical, with tunes written by John Legend, David Bowie, Panic! At the Disco and others.
Under the guidance of Cabrillo Stage Artistic Director Andrea Hart, Cabrillo Theater Arts is inviting the Santa Cruz community into the colorful and vibrant world of Bikini Bottom at a time when the world really needs more “unexpected delight.”
She and colleague Skip Epperson, the chair of Cabrillo Theater Arts and resident scenic designer, “thought it would be perfect, for various reasons. It’s a joyful show and we wanted to do something that was joyful and upbeat,” Hart explains. “It has this message of what do you do in the face of catastrophe? Which is such an important message right now and being able to look at it from a lighthearted, playful perspective is refreshing and allows you to reflect on your own response.”
As with the original series, SpongeBob SquarePants, the stage musical also celebrates kindness and friendship in the face of the constant ebb and flow of our relationships, highlighting the struggles of Patrick and SpongeBob as they try to save the town they love.
“The show has a message about being kind and how you treat your friends. There will be some audience participation along the lines of ‘Are you Team Patrick? Or are you Team SpongeBob?’ Patchy the Pirate might get you on your feet for a singalong. These big kids acting like little kids will be a lot of fun,” Hart says.
Admitting that Patrick and SpongeBob are favorites, Hart says, “Patrick is a really lovable character; Tristan Hahn, who is playing him, is super locked in, and the relationship between SpongeBob and Patrick is really adorable. It’s something I wish our society celebrated more. This really close friendship between boys is really sweet and loving.”
In addition to shanty-singing pirates and creative, wild costumes by Maria Crush, Cabrillo’s longtime costume designer, the production will have an elaborate set derived from the minds of Epperson and technical director Marcel Tijoe. There isn’t a missed detail in this fun-packed production.
Affectionately calling them “the best kind of yes men,” Hart explains, “The great thing about Skip and Marcel’s collaboration is that Marcel is a very creative technical director. If you have an idea he will bring you three different options on how that idea might be done. And Skip is a great, collaborative designer who digs into the script to find what the set might need. This show is like playing ‘The Floor is Lava,’ and that playfulness brings in wild, unexpected things the audience won’t expect.”
The community college’s theater arts program provides a space for students to learn about professional theater while taking the fullest advantage of the facilities provided to them, and that commitment does not fall short in this production.
“I think what’s really important about Cabrillo theater arts is that it is providing a middle ground between youth theater and professional theater,” Hart says. “When you come here you are in an amazing space, with fantastic facilities and people who’ve made this their life’s work. The theater arts department here is just really special and every show you see is going to have a level of excellence based on producing the best possible plays and musicals.”
SpongeBob: the Musical will run on the Crocker Theater main stage, Nov. 8–24, 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays (except Nov. 15) and 2pm on Sundays, with a 10am student matinee on Nov. 15. Tickets are $10–$26. cabrillovapa.universitytickets.com
