Post by tylerlennon2007 on Apr 17, 2023 21:07:48 GMT
I had the pleasure of being able to see Troupe 900's matinee performance of their spring musical, The SpongeBob Musical, along with some other people from 2055, and I would like to give a review about it, as I've done for a few other shows of theirs. This does contain spoilers for the musical so, if you have not already seen it and want to see it first, I'd recommend finding a recording of it before reading this review.
Plot Synopsis
Based on the popular kids cartoon, The SpongeBob Musical follows the titular SpongeBob SquarePants and the other citizens of Bikini Bottom as they prepare for their impending doom brought about by a soon-to-erupt volcano nearby.
SpongeBob, Sandy, and Patrick come up with their own plan to stop the volcano which is in conflict with Plankton and his computer wife Karen's "plan" to help, which is secretly a ploy to hypnotize everyone in Bikini Bottom into eating his crappy food instead of at the Krabby Patty.
Other interpersonal conflicts, such as a cult of sardines that worship Patrick and an anti-land animal campaign against Sandy all add to the chaos as the doomsday clock ticks closer and closer to the end of their lives.
SpongeBob, Sandy, and Patrick come up with their own plan to stop the volcano which is in conflict with Plankton and his computer wife Karen's "plan" to help, which is secretly a ploy to hypnotize everyone in Bikini Bottom into eating his crappy food instead of at the Krabby Patty.
Other interpersonal conflicts, such as a cult of sardines that worship Patrick and an anti-land animal campaign against Sandy all add to the chaos as the doomsday clock ticks closer and closer to the end of their lives.
Individual Cast Performances
Ayden Stencil-Rabbatz as SpongeBob was definitely the casting choice I was most hyped for when I saw the cast list for the first time and he delivered on every front. He nailed the SpongeBob vocal affect down to a T and, while there was some strain on some of the super high notes, he vocally did an amazing job with the singing as well. His body language was also perfect and I honestly could not have asked to see a better SpongeBob even if I went to see the show professionally done.
Luis Garcia as Patrick. I could not be prouder of this man and how much he has clearly grown since I saw him play a lead in Property Rites at Districts. Not only was the acting portion amazing but he easily had one of my personal favorite singing performances in the whole show and I cannot wait to see what he does next.
Sarah Venable as Sandy. I swear every performance I've seen of hers has been a very different kind of character and she's nailed all of them with flying colors. I especially liked the accent she did for Sandy, while not entirely consistent the entire time (but not inconsistent enough to be distracting), as I have a lot of family in Texas and it felt more like a love letter to the state rather than a caricature. Singing was also top notch and I recall hearing other folks in the troupe say she was one of their favorites as well.
Josh Frechette as Squidward. This was the performance that the troupe as a whole was most excited to see, as Landon (our Fred Casely in Chicago) can do a killer rendition of I'm Not a Loser and has made all of us like the song by association, and Josh did an excellent job not only with that song but with the character as a whole. Like with Ayden as SpongeBob, he nailed the voice for Squidward and I honestly enjoyed his performance more than the official cast recording.
Sebastian Lucid as Plankton. When The Going Gets Tough is actually one of the select few songs from the musical I had heard prior to going to see this (I tried to avoid too many spoilers about the show), and honestly, I liked Sebastian's version better. Our entire row of Hollins kids audibly gasped when he got to the especially fast part of the song and his diction was surprisingly good even when going super fast. He also nailed the character voice the whole way through and- Don't ask me how he managed this I genuinely don't understand- Was able to sell the fact that the character is tiny even though he was one of the taller people on the cast. Amazing work from him, as usual.
CJ McGuire as Mr. Krabs. Picking a favorite performance out of this musical would be impossible since everyone did so good but they're definitely up there. I know I've already commented a lot on character voice (kinda unavoidable when it's a musical based on a cartoon full of over the top characters), but the voice for Mr. Krabs was also amazing and somehow didn't impede on the singing ability of the actor. They managed to perfectly blend both impressive vocals with the over the top voice and the rock falsetto also made us gasp. The numerous physical gags of the character moving around like an actual crab were very good and overall it was just another spectacular performance from a very promising actor.
Shelby Wilson as Pearl. While unfortunately most of her vocals were overshadowed by mic issues, what I was able to hear singing-wise was incredible and I hope to hear more of her vocal talents in the future. She also nailed the bratty teenager vibe that the character carries around and when she started doing the over-the-top crying, I was smiling so big because it was absolutely on point with the crying in the show. Phenomenal work!
Xander Radomski as Perch Perkins. When he started singing in No Control, we all looked at each other in surprise because we were fully not expecting a strong bass voice based on his speaking voice and it was very cool to hear. All of his little news report segments were entertaining as well. Great stuff
Finn French as Patchy the Pirate. The whole anti-piracy joke at the beginning of both acts was hilarious and had our whole row (and most of the audience) laughing hysterically. Poor Pirates was also a very fun number despite some mic issues and the part where he put his hook in SpongeBob's mouth was perhaps the funniest little moment in the entire show. Finn is a truly spectacular actor and I hope they continue to do theater in their adult life
Sloane Magaziner as Karen. Also one of the most stand-out performances, Sloane managed to perfectly balance the computer-like vocal affect without sounding monotone in a way that would be very hard for most professional actors to pull off. The same-note laugh in particular was very good and, without fail, pretty much everyone else in Troupe 2055 brought up her performance when asked about the show (some people in the troupe who wanted to go were unable to due to illness and Chicago overlap, unfortunately) as a stand-out.
Fin Casey, JT Thomas, and Nox Bowman as the Electric Skates. When I tell you we were all so nervous when they came out on wheels (skateboard, roller skates, and a hoverboard) and then promptly very relieved when the scene went through with little incident. Anyone brave enough to be on wheels on stage gets an automatic A+ in my book and the great performances just added to that. Nox's multiple deliveries of the same line was also very cool because you could tell the emotion they were going for each and every time perfectly even though it was the same three words. Overall an amazing performance from all of them
And finally the ensemble as a whole (Autumn Christy, Chloe Hodges, Sebastian Ragosta, Michael Braden, Kaylynn Morris, Hayleigh Costello, Leo Cain, Mia Santos, John Redway, Rey Trombetta, Michael Hanley, Joshua Hittler, Syd Sikorski, Zay Martin, Serenity Irvin-Churchward, Omar Lanauze, Boyd Daniels, Keegan Brisard, and Lia McGlashan). I could write a paragraph for each and every one if I really tried but for sake of brevity I will just say that the ensemble was incredible and there were plenty of moments where someone in the ensemble would do something that made us all chuckle even if brief. Shows truly are only as good as their ensemble at the end of the day, and I hope every single person in the show continues to act, dance, sing, whatever because they are all absolutely spectacular
Luis Garcia as Patrick. I could not be prouder of this man and how much he has clearly grown since I saw him play a lead in Property Rites at Districts. Not only was the acting portion amazing but he easily had one of my personal favorite singing performances in the whole show and I cannot wait to see what he does next.
Sarah Venable as Sandy. I swear every performance I've seen of hers has been a very different kind of character and she's nailed all of them with flying colors. I especially liked the accent she did for Sandy, while not entirely consistent the entire time (but not inconsistent enough to be distracting), as I have a lot of family in Texas and it felt more like a love letter to the state rather than a caricature. Singing was also top notch and I recall hearing other folks in the troupe say she was one of their favorites as well.
Josh Frechette as Squidward. This was the performance that the troupe as a whole was most excited to see, as Landon (our Fred Casely in Chicago) can do a killer rendition of I'm Not a Loser and has made all of us like the song by association, and Josh did an excellent job not only with that song but with the character as a whole. Like with Ayden as SpongeBob, he nailed the voice for Squidward and I honestly enjoyed his performance more than the official cast recording.
Sebastian Lucid as Plankton. When The Going Gets Tough is actually one of the select few songs from the musical I had heard prior to going to see this (I tried to avoid too many spoilers about the show), and honestly, I liked Sebastian's version better. Our entire row of Hollins kids audibly gasped when he got to the especially fast part of the song and his diction was surprisingly good even when going super fast. He also nailed the character voice the whole way through and- Don't ask me how he managed this I genuinely don't understand- Was able to sell the fact that the character is tiny even though he was one of the taller people on the cast. Amazing work from him, as usual.
CJ McGuire as Mr. Krabs. Picking a favorite performance out of this musical would be impossible since everyone did so good but they're definitely up there. I know I've already commented a lot on character voice (kinda unavoidable when it's a musical based on a cartoon full of over the top characters), but the voice for Mr. Krabs was also amazing and somehow didn't impede on the singing ability of the actor. They managed to perfectly blend both impressive vocals with the over the top voice and the rock falsetto also made us gasp. The numerous physical gags of the character moving around like an actual crab were very good and overall it was just another spectacular performance from a very promising actor.
Shelby Wilson as Pearl. While unfortunately most of her vocals were overshadowed by mic issues, what I was able to hear singing-wise was incredible and I hope to hear more of her vocal talents in the future. She also nailed the bratty teenager vibe that the character carries around and when she started doing the over-the-top crying, I was smiling so big because it was absolutely on point with the crying in the show. Phenomenal work!
Xander Radomski as Perch Perkins. When he started singing in No Control, we all looked at each other in surprise because we were fully not expecting a strong bass voice based on his speaking voice and it was very cool to hear. All of his little news report segments were entertaining as well. Great stuff
Finn French as Patchy the Pirate. The whole anti-piracy joke at the beginning of both acts was hilarious and had our whole row (and most of the audience) laughing hysterically. Poor Pirates was also a very fun number despite some mic issues and the part where he put his hook in SpongeBob's mouth was perhaps the funniest little moment in the entire show. Finn is a truly spectacular actor and I hope they continue to do theater in their adult life
Sloane Magaziner as Karen. Also one of the most stand-out performances, Sloane managed to perfectly balance the computer-like vocal affect without sounding monotone in a way that would be very hard for most professional actors to pull off. The same-note laugh in particular was very good and, without fail, pretty much everyone else in Troupe 2055 brought up her performance when asked about the show (some people in the troupe who wanted to go were unable to due to illness and Chicago overlap, unfortunately) as a stand-out.
Fin Casey, JT Thomas, and Nox Bowman as the Electric Skates. When I tell you we were all so nervous when they came out on wheels (skateboard, roller skates, and a hoverboard) and then promptly very relieved when the scene went through with little incident. Anyone brave enough to be on wheels on stage gets an automatic A+ in my book and the great performances just added to that. Nox's multiple deliveries of the same line was also very cool because you could tell the emotion they were going for each and every time perfectly even though it was the same three words. Overall an amazing performance from all of them
And finally the ensemble as a whole (Autumn Christy, Chloe Hodges, Sebastian Ragosta, Michael Braden, Kaylynn Morris, Hayleigh Costello, Leo Cain, Mia Santos, John Redway, Rey Trombetta, Michael Hanley, Joshua Hittler, Syd Sikorski, Zay Martin, Serenity Irvin-Churchward, Omar Lanauze, Boyd Daniels, Keegan Brisard, and Lia McGlashan). I could write a paragraph for each and every one if I really tried but for sake of brevity I will just say that the ensemble was incredible and there were plenty of moments where someone in the ensemble would do something that made us all chuckle even if brief. Shows truly are only as good as their ensemble at the end of the day, and I hope every single person in the show continues to act, dance, sing, whatever because they are all absolutely spectacular
Costumes + Makeup + Hair
The costumes/makeup for shows has always been one of Countryside's strongest assets and this show was certainly no exception to that. Those were things that got us hyped about the show even before we saw it in person just based on photos posted to the troupe's Instagram.
The makeup (Fin Casey and Leo Cain) for each and every character was perfect, capturing the cartoon character's appearance on the human actor without feeling uncanny. It was especially impressive for ensemble members who played multiple roles, as their makeup worked for each part they played while also helping to keep track of which cast member did what. Fin and Leo truly outdid themselves with this show and they should be very proud
The costumes (Astrid Turner, Zay Martin, Lauren Morahan, Johnnay Shaw, and Kaiden Kern) perfectly balanced both the cartoon designs and the fact that the actors are, of course, not sea creatures (or a squirrel, in Sandy's case). While some inspiration was clearly taken from professional productions, I was also a big fan of where the costumes deviated from that. In particular, I much preferred Patrick's costume here as opposed to the professional versions I've seen online. This show just drove home to me how much Countryside truly does have some of the strongest costume techs in the district
I don't know who to credit hair to, but the hair was also great for this show. I especially liked how colorful it all was, which you really do need for such a vibrant show
The makeup (Fin Casey and Leo Cain) for each and every character was perfect, capturing the cartoon character's appearance on the human actor without feeling uncanny. It was especially impressive for ensemble members who played multiple roles, as their makeup worked for each part they played while also helping to keep track of which cast member did what. Fin and Leo truly outdid themselves with this show and they should be very proud
The costumes (Astrid Turner, Zay Martin, Lauren Morahan, Johnnay Shaw, and Kaiden Kern) perfectly balanced both the cartoon designs and the fact that the actors are, of course, not sea creatures (or a squirrel, in Sandy's case). While some inspiration was clearly taken from professional productions, I was also a big fan of where the costumes deviated from that. In particular, I much preferred Patrick's costume here as opposed to the professional versions I've seen online. This show just drove home to me how much Countryside truly does have some of the strongest costume techs in the district
I don't know who to credit hair to, but the hair was also great for this show. I especially liked how colorful it all was, which you really do need for such a vibrant show
Blocking/Staging + Choreography
As per usual, Mr. Saienni really outdid himself with the blocking/staging. The man truly has a knack for having multiple things happening on stage at once without either distracting from the other, which is an effect that is very hard to pull off.
Specific moments where this stood out to me were Mr. Krabs looming in the background during (Just a) Simple Sponge, the chaos on the main stage while SpongeBob, Sandy, and Patrick were near the volcano, and all of (I Guess I) Miss You.
There was also a lot of impressive blocking in terms of things that could've gone horribly wrong if not thought through enough (such as Sandy walking across the ladder held up by ensemble members or really anything with those two big staircases) and those moments really took the show to the next level in terms of scope.
From my understanding, the whole show was student choreographed/led by JT Thomas, or at least largely done so. That type of choreography would've been impressive even with it being solely done by a professional choreographer, let alone a student. I cannot compliment JT (and anyone else who may have had a hand in the dancing) enough on how it turned out, as well as the ensemble for performing it so well.
Specific moments where this stood out to me were Mr. Krabs looming in the background during (Just a) Simple Sponge, the chaos on the main stage while SpongeBob, Sandy, and Patrick were near the volcano, and all of (I Guess I) Miss You.
There was also a lot of impressive blocking in terms of things that could've gone horribly wrong if not thought through enough (such as Sandy walking across the ladder held up by ensemble members or really anything with those two big staircases) and those moments really took the show to the next level in terms of scope.
From my understanding, the whole show was student choreographed/led by JT Thomas, or at least largely done so. That type of choreography would've been impressive even with it being solely done by a professional choreographer, let alone a student. I cannot compliment JT (and anyone else who may have had a hand in the dancing) enough on how it turned out, as well as the ensemble for performing it so well.
Tech (Lights/Sound/Set/Props)
The lighting in the show (Amanda Green, Maria Balthazar-Martinez, and Johnnay Shaw) was another strong suit. There were a lot of little moments that simply would not have worked without proper lighting, so the fact that they got all the cues right and perfect essentially every time their was a change should be praised for the undertaking it must've been, and it paid off very well
Sound (Ashlee Padilla) was also quite good. While there were some mic issues throughout the show (particularly with Pearl's mic cutting in and out pretty consistently), few of them caused too much distraction and the sound was generally leveled pretty well, especially with the music all being on a pre-recorded track. It was also impressive to me how much background music their was to scenes without being distracting, as well as all the sound effects (like Squidward's walk) being timed near-perfect every single time. The absolute tip of my hat to Ashlee cause that cannot have been easy to pull off
The set (Indigo Rygiel, Omar Lanauze, Allison Skinner, Elizabeth Frizzle, and Paisley Mikronis) had all of us floored before the show even started. The obvious marvel is clearly the volcano, with it's general scope as well as the steam/light effect and the fully enforced bridge for the "boulder" to slide onto the stage from, but the set as a whole was quite impressive. The second floor in the back led to many cool blocking moments (such as, again, Mr. Krabs looming during Simple Sponge as well as Patchy sneaking on stage towards the end) and all the little crevices hidden underneath were both practical and nice to look at. The bubbles over the audience were also a really neat touch, and the wires that were holding them in place were barely visible, which was a neat effect as well.
Props (Allison Skinner, Jordan Pescio, Mackenzie Shackton, Lea Rider, and Shelby Lehr) all looked very nice. In particular, I'd like to compliment how the "boulder" was handled because not only did I not notice them putting it back after each use, but when it accidentally fell into the crowd, they snuck in and took it back while everything was dark so it wasn't distracting- That sort of impromptu timing is not something that comes naturally for most people and takes a lot of focus, especially under the pressure of a whole show so I commend them for that
And, of course, the show would not have been possible without stage manager Veronica O'Reilly and assistant stage managers Jordan Pescio and Indigo Rygiel. This show ran very smoothly (even considering the fact that we allegedly saw the weakest performance) and I know stage managing can be incredibly stressful so incredible work all around to the three of you. I know Broadway Stars came by for your show- I sincerely hope y'all get a best stage management nomination.
Sound (Ashlee Padilla) was also quite good. While there were some mic issues throughout the show (particularly with Pearl's mic cutting in and out pretty consistently), few of them caused too much distraction and the sound was generally leveled pretty well, especially with the music all being on a pre-recorded track. It was also impressive to me how much background music their was to scenes without being distracting, as well as all the sound effects (like Squidward's walk) being timed near-perfect every single time. The absolute tip of my hat to Ashlee cause that cannot have been easy to pull off
The set (Indigo Rygiel, Omar Lanauze, Allison Skinner, Elizabeth Frizzle, and Paisley Mikronis) had all of us floored before the show even started. The obvious marvel is clearly the volcano, with it's general scope as well as the steam/light effect and the fully enforced bridge for the "boulder" to slide onto the stage from, but the set as a whole was quite impressive. The second floor in the back led to many cool blocking moments (such as, again, Mr. Krabs looming during Simple Sponge as well as Patchy sneaking on stage towards the end) and all the little crevices hidden underneath were both practical and nice to look at. The bubbles over the audience were also a really neat touch, and the wires that were holding them in place were barely visible, which was a neat effect as well.
Props (Allison Skinner, Jordan Pescio, Mackenzie Shackton, Lea Rider, and Shelby Lehr) all looked very nice. In particular, I'd like to compliment how the "boulder" was handled because not only did I not notice them putting it back after each use, but when it accidentally fell into the crowd, they snuck in and took it back while everything was dark so it wasn't distracting- That sort of impromptu timing is not something that comes naturally for most people and takes a lot of focus, especially under the pressure of a whole show so I commend them for that
And, of course, the show would not have been possible without stage manager Veronica O'Reilly and assistant stage managers Jordan Pescio and Indigo Rygiel. This show ran very smoothly (even considering the fact that we allegedly saw the weakest performance) and I know stage managing can be incredibly stressful so incredible work all around to the three of you. I know Broadway Stars came by for your show- I sincerely hope y'all get a best stage management nomination.
Closing Thoughts
Per usual, this was an incredible show to come and see and I'm so glad that I was able to watch it despite Chicago overlap. Can't wait to see whatever you guys do next and I hope all of you get plenty of rest, praise, and nominations from Straz.
With love, Tyler Hogan of Troupe 2055
With love, Tyler Hogan of Troupe 2055