By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—SpongeBob SquarePants is a gloriously silly animated TV show that centers around a relentlessly optimistic, childlike sea sponge that lives in a pineapple in an undersea town—Bikini Bottom—that’s populated by a wacko cast of aquatic characters plus a Texan squirrel. It’s a zanier, less political version of The Simpsons, if The Simpsons happened underwater and took its aesthetic cues from 1960s tiki lounges. It’s a kitschy flavor that many people love, some despise, and a bunch simply don’t get.
But Otter Valley’s Walking Stick Theater gets it. In fact, the company’s production of The SpongeBob Musical brought Bikini Bottom to life as only true fans of the show could. This is not a production you can do in half-measures. Either you’re all in or the show will fall flat, and Walking Stick was all in.
From the moment we arrived, to a packed theater, it was clear that Walking Stick meant business. The set design was superb, created by Walking Stick’s director/designer Jeff Hull and his theater design class. The audience was immediately immersed in a different world. Hull and his crew captured the show’s go-go luau aesthetic perfectly. Even the program was a cut above Walking Stick’s usual, mimicking a Broadway Playbill replete with cast photos and bios.
The orchestra, led by OV’s Patrick Roberts, delivered the score with professional polish and real musical joy. The pit had a great sense of campy melodrama without ever overwhelming the onstage action. The music itself was composed by a wide range of supremely talented songwriters, including David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, and Sara Bareilles, to name just a few.
And the costumes, by Kelly Connaughton, were dazzling. Throughout the entire production, everyone who walked onstage added to the visual impact of the scene. The costumes were bright, colorful, purposeful, and witty, particularly the four-legged ensemble sported by Squidward Tentacles, one of SpongeBob’s undersea neighbors. Squidward’s Act-II dance scene was one of the visual highlights of the evening because of the costume and, of course, because of Michaela Newell’s outstanding choreography, which was crisp and fun.
The storyline itself isn’t the point of the piece. Bikini Bottom is threatened with destruction and SpongeBob must find a way to save the town and neighbors he loves. There are obstacles and setbacks but, ultimately, he prevails. In the process, he comes to value himself as more than “just a sponge.” The bare-bones plot is essentially an excuse for antics, songs, and laughs.
The real power in the production, however, came from the performers. From the leads to the chorus, the actors lost themselves in their parts. Everyone gave 120% in a show whose frenetic pace requires 110% at a minimum. It’s mostly nonstop slapstick action from the minute The Pirate (enthusiastically played by OV teacher Cam Perta) introduces the show to the minute the entire cast of thousands fills the stage at the end.
While the entire ensemble pulled its own weight, there were several standout performances.
Calvin Ladd delivered a dynamite SpongeBob, capturing the squeaky voice, awkward mannerisms, and exuberantly goofball personality of the character. He sang with polish and confidence and never let the energy flag. The performance made the show and gave the cast a solid core to swirl around.
Jordan Bertrand played Patrick Star, SpongeBob’s best friend, with the requisite dimwitted bravado. It takes smarts to play dumb convincingly and Bertrand pulled it off with lots of laughs. A conflict between Patrick and SpongeBob provides much of the key drama in the show and Bertrand successfully navigated the journey from friend to foe to hero.
Sophie Moore sparkled as Sandy Cheeks the scientist squirrel, the sole land animal to reside in Bikini Bottom (thanks to oxygen tanks). Sandy Cheeks is the brains of the town, ultimately providing the plan that saves Bikini Bottom despite mistreatment from her neighbors, and Moore played the tenderhearted egghead persuasively.
As the ill-tempered and vain Squidward Tentacles, Dillon Ladd mimicked the nasal voice to perfection and had one of the best numbers in the show: “I’m Not a Loser.” The scene had a besequinned Ladd doing a four-legged tap dance that culminated in a Rockettes-style kickline. It was an exhilarating display. A senior this year, Ladd has been in many Walking Stick productions and this was an excellent performance to cap his time at OV.
Bryce Connaughton and Sally O’Brien were delightful as Plankton and Karen, green- and purple-haired villains who unsuccessfully plot to hypnotize the town into liking their unpopular restaurant during the panic over impending disaster.
Ian Miner and Elyse Singh got lots of laughs as Mr. Krabs and his daughter, Pearl, a zoologically mismatched father and daughter (crab and whale, respectively). Miner used his lobster-claw hands to great comedic effect. And one of the best running gags in the show had everything shake when Pearl walked anywhere on stage.
And Emil Dardozzi did a terrific job with the heard-but-not-seen French Narrator, a device straight from the TV show meant to imitate the voiceovers of famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. Dardozzi nailed both the accent and the dry, affectless tone.
And kudos to the rest of the cast, all of whom contributed to the success of the show, no matter how small their parts. The choral and dance ensembles were always sharp and provided excellent support for the leads.
Director Jeff Hull has a well-earned reputation in the world of high-school theater, consistently turning out excellent shows with Walking Stick, but The SpongeBob Musical represents a new high for the troupe, surpassing expectations of a small-town high-school theater program.
Well done, folks.
