Egyptian YouTheatre — a performing arts education program — presents “SpongeBob the Musical” Youth Edition Feb. 7-9 at the Egyptian Theatre, with a special performance on Feb. 6 just for students.
Stephen Hilenburg created the musical based on the SpongeBob SquarePants television episodes that premiered in 1999, with original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, The Flaming Lips, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, David Bowie and other notable musicians.
SpongeBob is one of the first musicals of this stature that YouTheatre has presented. Dan Varas, director of YouTheatre for three years, delivered his first large-scale performance through YouTheatre with “Once Upon a Mattress,” showcasing 35 kids in spring 2023.
“They were so professional, and the show ended up being so good that I wanted to challenge some of our older kids to do a show that has a lot of belting and a lot of dance and a lot of spectacle,” he said.
Education Director Amy Livingston serves as the musical director for SpongeBob’s vocals and music, while two other additional choreographers work with the kids on dance and movement.
“The music in this show is lively and upbeat, and our cast has had a lot of fun learning the songs throughout the process,” Livingston said.
Varas said the show has a lot of notoriety.
“It’s a real draw for the kids, too, because they’ve all heard of it,” Varas said, adding that, since the character has been around for more than 25 years, the show is also familiar to parents.
“(The characters) are very animated in the cartoon, and then adding that to the music just makes it really intense. There are a couple songs that are quite emotional and really well done,” Varas said. “One of them, specifically, is SpongeBob singing ‘I’m not a simple sponge,’ and there’s not a dry eye in the house. It’s so good.”
A group of 17 actors, sixth grade and older, round out the 60-minute show, singing live to backing tracks. The youth edition is a truncated version of the full-length Broadway musical. In cutting the show, some lines changed, but it still depicts the story of SpongeBob and his friends helping save an undersea world when citizens discover that a volcano threatens to wipe out their home. It’s about finding hope when all seems lost and how optimism can save the day.
“It’s one of those great shows where there’s just as much for the grownups as the kids just because of how long the show has been on — it’s super entertaining,” he said.
The show represents one portion of YouTheatre’s mission to ignite a lifelong love for the arts through personal development and creativity; it promotes these through after-school and outreach programs at elementary schools and in-house classes ranging from acting to technical skills, such as lighting and set design. The various programs expose kids to theater, related games and performances.
“I believe strongly in the power of music education as a benefit to all kids, not just the ones who might go on to further participate in music later in life,” Livingston said. “Learning and singing songs as a group helps build camaraderie and team work and encourages kids to broaden their awareness beyond themselves, and singing solos or duets helps kids build their sense of self-confidence. Studying music also helps develop critical thinking and language skills, among lots of other important life skills. It’s been a blast and a privilege to help our talented cast members discover their own capabilities as performers and as people.”
“SpongeBob the Musical” Youth Edition
- When: 9:30 a.m. and noon Feb. 6 (only open to students; not open to the public); 5 p.m. Feb. 7; 2 and 5 p.m. Feb. 8; and 5 p.m. Feb. 9
- Where: Egyptian Theatre
- Tickets: $10 for adults, 17 and younger free, but all attendees must reserve their seats, regardless of age and price.
- More info is available at parkcityyoutheatre.com