Review: SPONGEBOB THE MUSICAL at Gooseberry Park Players

Many people will get to see this fun, entertaining and family friendly musical for the first time. Any kids who grew up watching SpongeBob, or their parents who were forced to watch with them, will know most of these characters. The story takes place under the sea... Nope, that other story. This one takes place in Bikini Bottom where our title character decides to put together a team to stop a catastrophe from destroying their home.

First of all, this is a musical, and some amazing artists contributed to this show. This is a show featuring original music by artists like Sara Bareilles, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry and many many more. The 12 time Tony Award Nominee will have you dancing in your seat.

I loved that the pit orchestra was on stage the whole time, and is part of the show. Congrats to conductor Dr, Kelly Burns and the other 14 members of the pit. I always enjoy when you can see the musicians bringing the music to life right in front of you.

Starting off with the title character, Chloe Hall as SpongeBob was easily one of my favorites. Chloe is a great singer and has amazing stage presence. Her joyful personality bursts through on stage! She has the SpongeBob laugh down perfect. A few of her standout vocal performances were on "BFF", "(Just A) Simple Sponge", "Hero Is My Middle Name" and "(I Guess) I Miss You". Chloe is only a Freshman at Northern Cass, so hopefully we will have many more opportunities to see her on stage.

Another favorite was Sam Kain as Patrick Starr. I recently saw Sam in the Fargo South production of Bloodlines. Of course many may remember him last summer as Cogsworth in the Gooseberry production of Beauty and the Beast. Sam was spot on as Patrick and got non-stop laughs from the audience. His interactions with Chloe were wonderful. I really enjoyed his vocals on "BFF", "Hero Is My Middle Name" and "(I Guess) I Miss You".

Next up we have Sandy Cheeks portrayed by Brooklyn Mauch. She is a great actress and a wonderful singer. I loved her vocals on "Hero Is My Middle Name" and "Chop To The Top".

Some more great vocal performances that stood out for me were Eugene and Pearl Krabs portrayed by Terth Tuel and Allie Skauge on "Daddy Knows Best, Evan Froslie as Squidward on "I'm Not A Loser", "When The Going Gets Tough" performed by Plankton (Isaac Leiseth) and Karen (Ashlyn Kanuch) and of course "Poor Pirates" performed by Patchy (Liam Newman) and the Pirate Ensemble.

A few more favorite characters I want to be sure to mention are Davie Judd as The Mayor and Roman Indrehus as Old Man Jenkins.

The set was so much fun. So many bright and happy colors. Great job by David Wilhelmi the Scenic Designer. The costumes were also colorful and so much fun, a shout out to Costume/Hair/Makeup Designer Rooth Varland. Also a huge congrats to Director Ryan Scoble and Assistant Director Casey Hennessy. A definite shout out to Choreographer Colby Schwartzwalter, he always does an amazing job. And of course the rest of the artistic staff, Kelly Burns, Mitchel Rieth, John Goering, Brian Lynch, Paul Graber, Anna Kann and Emma Shook.

Congrats to the entire cast and crew and working so hard and bringing our community some wonderful theatre this summer. You should all be very proud.

You still have a few more chances to see this show and I highly recommend that you do. The shows take place at the Horizon Middle School Perforing Arts Center in Moorhead.

*** Picture Credits to Robby Njos

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