The Broadway cast of the “SpongeBob Squarepants” musical will reunite for a filmed version of the musical to air on Nickelodeon.
The filmed performance, which will be performed in front of a live theater audience, is set to air on Nickelodeon in December, under the title “The SpongeBob Musical: Live On Stage!” Directed by Tina Landau, the musical played the Palace Theatre on Broadway from Nov. 6, 2017 to Sept. 16, 2018.
The television version will bring back Ethan Slater as SpongeBob SquarePants, Gavin Lee as Squidward Q. Tentacles, Danny Skinner as Patrick Star, Brian Ray Norris as Eugene Krabs and Wesley Taylor as Sheldon Plankton. Christina Sajous will play Sandy Cheeks, the role which was performed by Lilli Cooper, who is currently in “Tootsie,” on Broadway.
“I’m so thrilled to be able to revisit the show in a new light and with our original cast members,” Landau said in the press release. “The whole creative and I are excited to go back into the world of Bikini Bottom and discover its new life in TV broadcast form. But above all, I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to share the joy and spirit of our show with a wider audience. That’s what matters most to me – the joy.”
The ensemble will include Kyle Matthew Hamilton, Katie Lee Hill, Curtis Holbrook, L’ogan J’ones, Jai’len Josey, Kelvin Moon Loh, Lauralyn McClelland, Vasthy Mompoint, Bryonha Parham, Oneika Phillips, Jon Rua, JC Schuster, Abby C. Smith, Robert Taylor Jr. and Allan Washington.
Based on the Nickelodeon cartoon, the musical features a book by Kyle Jarrow, orchestration and arrangements by Tom Kitt and choreography by Christopher Gattelli. Glenn Weiss, a longtime producer of the Tony Awards and director of the Oscars and the Emmys, will provide television direction.
In addition to the filmed version of the musical, a non-Equity tour of “SpongeBob” is currently playing theaters across North America.
