THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL to Record Cast Album Before Swimming to Broadway

Nickelodeon and Masterworks Broadway have just announced that the Broadway-bound The SpongeBob Musical will record a cast album August 8-11 following a successful run at Broadway in Chicago's Oriental Theater.

"We are incredibly excited to capture this show with this cast right after our run in Chicago this summer," said co-conceiver and director Tina Landau and orchestrator, arranger and music supervisor Tom Kitt. "We look forward to releasing the album when this cast brings The SpongeBob Musical to Broadway."

Broadway plans will be announced at a later date.

"We are thrilled to be part of this unique project. You know you are in for an incredible cast album when the group of songwriters includes icons like Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, John Legend, Cyndi Lauper, T.I. or the late David Bowie." saysBogdan Roscic, President of Sony Music Masterworks.

The SpongeBob Musical cast album will feature 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 album will feature original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of AEROSMITH, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, 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 SpongeBob Musical is co-conceived and directed by Tina Landau, book by Kyle Jarrow, orchestrations, arrangements & music supervision by Tom Kitt, with choreography by Christopher Gattelli.

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

The SpongeBob Musical is produced by Nickelodeon with Sony Music Masterworks, The Araca Group and Kelp on the Road.

Since premiering on Nickelodeon in July 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has emerged as a pop culture phenomenon. The series has been the most-watched animated program with kids for more than 13 consecutive years, and over the past several years, it has averaged more than 1 million total viewers every quarter across all Nickelodeon networks. As the most widely distributed property in Viacom history, SpongeBob is seen in over 185 countries and translated in more than 50 languages. The Paramount Pictures feature film The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water premiered Feb. 6, 2015, landing at #1 opening weekend and going on to be a major hit globally. The character-driven cartoon chronicles the nautical and sometimes nonsensical adventures of SpongeBob, an incurably optimist and earnest sea sponge, and his undersea friends.

For more information on The SpongeBob Musical, visit TheSpongeBobMusical.com.

SONY MUSIC MASTERWORKS comprises the imprints Sony Classical, Masterworks, OKeh, Portrait, Flying Buddha and Masterworks Broadway. Our artists range from icons to newly developing talents in classical, crossover and adult alternative music, plus new and legendary jazz artists. Our vast catalog of musical theater recordings features classic shows and original cast albums of today's Broadway hits including Kinky Boots, Once, If/Then and An American in Paris. For more information visit www.masterworksbroadway.com.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus