Review: 'SpongeBob the Musical' at Barn Theatre

Aaron Czarnecki as Spongebob. Sydney Weiser as Sandy Cheeks, Patrick Hunter as Patrick Star(Photo: Barn Theatre)

Take a world faced with impending climate disaster and populate it with science-deniers, immigrant-haters, business people exploiting the public, politicians who form task forces and alarmist journalists.

Then, turn it into a musical with the hero a character straight out of Nikelodeon’s late 1990s, early 2000s.

Sound like an improbable—or even untasty—recipe for theater?

Then you might be surprised at how utterly delightful and ticklishly humorous “Spongebob Squarepants” at Augusta’s Barn Theatre is. It’s everything that shouldn’t work for a musical, but absolutely does. In one recurring song, the titular hero sings “I’m not a simple sponge,” and it is a message that should carry over to the production as a whole. This is NOT a simple musical and should not be underestimated.

Audiences get the first taste of what the show will look like upon entering as the ushers are Barn apprentices who are also characters in the show already in the wild, neon costumes that Melanie Wehrmacher designed. It also clues the audience into one of the brilliant strokes of the show—these characters are not made to look exactly like their cartoon counterparts. Rather, they have costume pieces and colors that make it clear who they are while still letting them have complete access to their bodies as an instrument for storytelling. These costume pieces range from boxing gloves for Mr. Crabby’s claws to a yellow dress shirt for SpongeBob.

Wehrmacher makes use of wild appendages and paints an eye-catching canvas of colors that make ensemble numbers a visual feast. Taking the costumes to a new level are the hair and wig designs of Garrylee Mccormick who must have gone through several bottles of gel, hairspray and dye to give each character a unique look to the sea creatures that populate Bikini Bottom.

Michael Mcshane’s lighting design also captures the attention of the audience long before the curtain speech begins. With twirling blue lights that rotate languorously, he creates the feel of an underwater setting. Once the show begins, he has a never-ending symphony of lighting specials that underscore the plot and characters with tricks that are sometimes as simple as an orange wash warning of lava showers or a split screen of pink and yellow to create a backdrop for Patrick Star and SpongeBob.

Director Eric Morris does a great job of moving large groups of people around the stage ensuring that there is always something interesting to look at. He gives every member of the ensemble something that makes them stand out, something that makes them unique beyond just their costuming. Each character and groups of characters (such as the pool of sardines) has their own physicality.

Amid an ocean of over-the-top creatures, SpongeBob Squarepants, played by Aaron Czarnecki, who just earned his BFA in musical theatre performance at Western Michigan University, appears almost—simple, the very thing he is accused of being. Czarnecki makes SpongeBob highly relatable, an optimistic everyman who never tires of believing the best in others and believing that he is living the best possible life that couldn’t possibly be any better--even if the world is going to come to an end in less than 48 hours.

Barn Favorite Patrick Hunter plays the physically and mentally lazy Patrick Star. It’s an incredible performance from start to finish. He doesn’t do an imitation of the cartoon’s starfish, but he instantly creates the appearance of the not-so-bright best friend who no one listens to, sometimes not even his best friend.

Sydney Weiser has great fun as Sandy Cheeks, the Texas squirrel who is both scientist and karate expert. Weiser, who just graduated from Marymount Manhattan College as the Valedictorian in her BFA class of musical theater and with a BA in directing, provides a range of emotions from enthusiasm to heartbreak to determination. She backs up her emotional expertise with a physicality that says “squirrel” while still adding dimension to her interpretation.

Nicholas Biddle, an apprentice from Carnegie Mellon University, captures the downtrodden depression of Squidward Tentacles, the squid whom no one likes except SpongeBob and Patrick, whom he can barely tolerate. Biddle makes sure the audience knows that Squidward has hopes and dreams and doesn’t care if they are incompatible with who others think he is. He performs with gloopy determination.

John Jay Espino, who is in this 9th season at the Barn, won spontaneous applause from the first big reveal of his Sheldon Plankton, the evil genius of Bikini Bottom who is always trying to force people to like his Chum Bucket restaurant. Those familiar with the cartoo, know that he is supposed to be so tiny that you need a magnifying glass to see him. Without giving away all that makes his representation so funny in the musical, the Barn takes advantage of Espino’s unique looks to connect him with another famous cartoon villain. Espino plays it up to full effect

Charlie King, who has performed at the Barn since 1991, did great movement work in his role as Mr. Eugene Krabs. He never forgot that he was a crab and kept the audience laughing with his stagework.

What is a musical without music? One of the things that made this musical a success is its score. It is not a jukebox musical—nearly every song is original—but nearly every song is done by a different artist, and it is an impressive collection. Songs were created by Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T,s and They Might be Giants. There’s even a song by David Bowie. Proving again, that this is not a simple musical.

Led by Musical Director Chris Gray, the music is loud, boisterous and filled with energy.

Barn favorite guest star Robert Newman, of Guiding Light fame, played the pirate known in the cartoon for introducing the theme song. As always, he earned applause just by entering the stage and carried on with energetic aplomb. However, the Barn either changed the opening or he missed an entrance on opening night as the musical typically opens with the pirate showing up and being told he is not welcome. Instead, Brendan Ragotzy made several references to pirates not being allowed in what felt like a delaying tactic to cover the missed entrance.

Nonetheless, SpongeBob Squarepants is a delightful, fun musical that manages to work for all ages. Younger attendees will love the color, the costumes, the huge dance numbers. Adults will appreciate the many layers in the script and the way the story could be torn right out of today’s headlines, only one that elicits humor and laughter rather than stress and groans.