The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!

I've been following this show since Chicago and seeing it on television felt like it brought closure to a long journey. I saw on Twitter that a lot of people said it was disrespecting Hillenburg by being released after his death, so I wanna make it clear that this show was greenlit by him and Nickelodeon years before his death, and I believe the filming rights were as well. TV seemed like a natural progression - Nick gonna cash grab, especially since SpongeBob is nearing the end of its 20-year-run. The magic they preserved here made it stand out to me in a way unlike other proshots (i.e. Shrek, Newsies, She Loves Me). Yes, it's a corporate cash grab, but knowing the love and care that Tina and the cast put into this show for years made it a cash grab worth my watch. Ethan's at the forefront of this, and he's having a ball. Everyone is! Big highlights for me were Ethan and Wes, but everyone put their heart and soul into this and it shows. At the end of the day, of course it's gonna suffer a little. Some of the problems have plagued the show from the start, like the mix of talent providing songs in pre-production holding the show back from ever evolving past needing those songs and leading songs like Daddy Knows Best and Chop to the Top feeling more like cabaret numbers than integral to the story. Others are new things that didn't translate from the stage, like the lack of the bicycle Rube Goldberg machine that was a really nice touch to the "boulder" scenes. But in the end, do I care? No! I'm so, so, so happy that this show finally got the taping it deserves (and happy that I won't be stuck watching shaky bootlegs forever). As everybody moves on with their careers (go watch Indoor Boys season 3!!), I'm grateful that this milestone was immortalized for us to keep watching.

This was a great representation of the incredibleness of the brief run of the SpongeBob musical! However, it was not filmed at the Palace, and to make room for more ads, they had to cut a few minor things. Plus, this didn't include any of the Rube Goldberg devices that were on both sides of the stage, which was a bummer. On the plus side, we were finally able to hear some of the things that were left off the cast album, like Plankton's speed rap in "When the Going Gets Tough". Another plus was having Tom Kenny not only voice the French Narrator, but also perform Patchy.

Ethan Slater KILLED his role as Spongebob. The songs are super good and the story is actually good believe it or not.

As a guy who loves musicals i REALLY recommend this to most people.

I'm a little biased since I'm one of the fangirls who's been raving about the show for over a year now and saw it when it was on Broadway, but this musical is outstanding. The characters are true to the cartoon while also looking like actual people, the costumes are beautiful, the songs are catchy, and very little was cut from the Broadway show. This is a genius work of art that has some very important messages about compassion and diversity. Ethan Slater was robbed of his Tony for the seven years of hard work he put into this (and the same goes for the rest of the cast). I'm so happy that the show will be preserved for generations to come.

10 out of 10 is not an easy thing for me to say about something, but this was an incredible show. You're not bored at all. The singing will give you goosebumps. Whether your 6th row orchestra seats like me or watching from the big screen at home, this will make you want to get up and dance. This show is great for people ages 3-99. It's an amazing experience and a whale of a time. You will not be disappointed at all.