Tony Winner Christopher Gattelli to Choreograph THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL

Broadway In Chicago and the World Premiere of The SpongeBob Musical welcomes Christopher Gattelli to the team as choreographer.

The SpongeBob Musical will begin performances on Tuesday, June 7 at Broadway In Chicago's Oriental Theatre (24 West Randolph Street, Chicago, IL) in a limited engagement through Sunday, July 3, 2016.

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

CHRISTOPHER GATTELLI (Choreographer) was awarded the 2012 Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his choreography in Newsies. Broadway (choreographer): The King & I (Tony nomination), South Pacific (Tony and Outer Critics Circle nominations), Amazing Grace, Casa Valentina, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Sunday in the Park With George, Godspell, The Ritz, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, 13, High Fidelity. Off- Broadway: Dogfight (Lortel Award), Altar Boyz (Lortel Award, Callaway Award, Drama Desk Nom.), Bat Boy: The Musical (Lortel Award), 10 Million Miles, Adrift in Maco, tick,tick...BOOM!, I Love You Because. West End/London: South Pacific, Sunday in the Park with George, tick, tick...BOOM! National/International Tours: Newsies, Altar Boyz, Godspell, Grease, Pooh's Perfect Day (World Premiere) Disney Theatricals. Sydney Opera House: South Pacific. Regional: Little Miss Sunshine (La Jolla Playhouse), Kander and Ebb's All About Us (Westport Playhouse), The Baker's Wife (Paper Mill Playhouse), Me and My Girl (Goodspeed Opera House). As director/choreographer, Off-Broadway: Silence! The Musical (Time Magazine's top 10 of 2011), world premiere of In Your Arms (The Old Globe), world premiere of Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jug- Band Christmas (Goodspeed Opera House). Also choreographed upcoming Coen Brothers' movie Hail, Caesar!

The SpongeBob Musical will be a one-of-a-kind musical event with original songs by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of AEROSMITH, Jonathan Coulton, Dirty Projectors, The Flaming Lips, John Legend, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T's, They Might Be Giants and T.I., with an additional song by David Bowie and 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 by Telsey + Company (casting).

Following its engagement in Chicago, the musical will open on Broadway in the 2016-2017 season.

Casting will be announced shortly.

The end is near. Only one sponge can save the day. But he's going to need help from some of the greatest songwriters in rock and pop music history.

The SpongeBob Musical unleashes anarchic absurdity under the sea... and on Broadway. Conceived and directed by Tina Landau (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), it delivers a tidal wave of original music by songwriting royalty like John Legend, Cyndi Lauper, The Flaming Lips, T.I., Lady Antebellum, and Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith.

The SpongeBob Musical is a rousing tale of a simple sea sponge who faces the unfathomable. It's a celebration of unbridled hope, unexpected heroes, and pure theatrical invention.

The SpongeBob Musical will be produced by Nickelodeon.

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.

The SpongeBob Musical will be part of the Broadway In Chicago series, on sale in October 2015. Group tickets for 10 or more are now on sale by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710. Individual tickets for The SpongeBob Musical will go on sale at a later date. For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos