TV: THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL Creatives on Bringing the Characters of Bikini Bottom to the Stage

Bikini Bottom will soon surface in Chicago, and in anticipation of The SpongeBob Musical's first performance on Tuesday, June 7th at Broadway in Chicago's Oriental Theatre, the production has begun rolling out a number of behind-the-scenes videos on the process of adapting one of television's biggest animated hits for the theatre. Below, check out a just-released peek at how the creatives are bringing the characters to the stage!

Just yesterday, Broadway In Chicago and The SpongeBob Musical announced a one-week extension for the world premiere through through Sunday, July 10

The SpongeBob Musical cast includes Ethan Slater as SpongeBob SquarePants, Gavin Lee as Squidward, Nick Blaemire as Plankton, Lilli Cooper as Sandy Cheeks, Carlos Lopez as Mr. Krabs, Danny Skinner as Patrick, Gaelen Gilliland, Juliane Godfrey, Curtis Holbrook, Stephanie Hsu, Jesse JP Johnson, L'ogan J'ones, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Mark Ledbetter, Kelvin Moon Loh, Lauralyn McClelland, Vasthy Mompoint, JC Schuster, Allysa Shorte, Jacob Smith, Abby C. Smith, Jason Michael Snow, and Allan K. Washington.

The SpongeBob Musical is co-conceived and directed by Tina Landau, book by Kyle Jarrow, orchestrations, arrangements & music supervision by Tom Kitt, with choreography byChristopher Gattelli.

The SpongeBob Musical will be a one-of-a-kind musical event with original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of AEROSMITH, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Dirty Projectors, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, John Legend,Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T's, They Might Be Giants and T.I., and a song by David Bowie. With additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton.

The design team includes scenic and costume design by David Zinn, lighting design by Kevin Adams, projection design by Peter Nigrini, sound design by Walter Trarbach and casting byTelsey + Company/Patrick Goodwin, CSA.