STAGE WEST: "The SpongeBob Musical" at Cygnet Theatre

Patrick Star (Berto Fernandez, left) and SpongeBob (Bailey Lee) celebrate their friendship in "The SpongeBob Musical."                                                                                                  Karli Cadel Photography

            For cockeyed optimist SpongeBob Squarepants every day is the best day ever. So, to quote another pop-culture icon, Mad magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman, “why worry?” when a predicted volcanic eruption threatens all who reside in the undersea realm of Bikini Bottom?
            That’s it. Those are the stakes in “The SpongeBob Musical,” Kyle Yarrow’s stage adaptation, with musical production conceived by Tina Landau, of the long-loved Nickelodeon TV show. So why does it take two and a half hours to address and resolve the problem?
            Because the show, which debuted on Broadway nine years ago and is now onstage in Cygnet’s Joseph Clayes III Theater, isn’t invested solely in the problem. It’s a showcase for song-and-dancing performances by versatile actors portraying cartoon characters that kids – and many of their parents – have loved for a quarter-century.
            In between the discovery, by “outsider mammal” Sandy Cheeks (Rebecca Murillo) of the volcano-eruption danger and the quest led by SpongeBob (Bailey Lee) to negate it are prodigious production numbers that smack of pure Broadway pizazz. Both Patrick Star (Beto Fernandez) and Squidward Q. Tentacles (Andrew Oswald) get lavish, ensemble-supported turns clearly designed to bring the ‘ol house down. Because Fernandez and Oswald are clearly the two loudest cheered performers in the Cygnet cast you could say they do just that.
            Director Katie Banville, recently named the theater’s associate artistic director, is a seasoned choreographer as well. No wonder the elaborate dance sequences in “SpongeBob” are as dazzling and superbly executed as they are.
            All of the other principal characters familiar to “SpongeBob” cartoon fans (admittedly, I am not one of them) are here: Mr. Krabs (Kurt Norby), Sheldon J. Plankton (Drew Bradford) and his computer wife Karen (Emma Nossal), Larry the Lobster (Boston Antunez), Pearl Krabs (Brittany Adriana Carrillo), Mrs. Puff (Gerilyn Brault).  Cygnet’s is a cast of nearly 20 all told.
            As befitting SpongeBob, Lee is playful, effusive and animated – the character’s giddy joy and value of friendship shines through. Like all the others in the show, she’s imaginatively costumed by Kelan Yang. Not clumsy replicas of the cartoon show but more comfortable, more conducive-to-movement outfits in bursting bright colors that suggest the visual characteristics of the Bikini Bottom gang.
            Mathys Herbert’s set evokes the undersea world of SpongeBob and company with shades of blue, oscillating waves and illuminated kelp. Of course there’s a prominent pineapple, and a giant wristwatch (probably waterproof) is utilized later when the gang is up against the “deadline” for the volcano to blow. If that’s intended to add urgency to the proceedings, it really doesn’t. This is a show, hosted by the quite funny Cody Bianchi as jokester Patchy the Pirate, that takes its own sweet time for song and spectacle.
            The musical score includes original tunes by notables like Sara Bareilles, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend and David Bowie. Jonathan Coulton (lyrics) and Tom Kitt (music) contributed. It’s a likable if not remarkable collection of songs. They do the job and ably support the big production numbers.
            A definite issue is the volume in the theater. Way too loud, at times thunderous. It didn’t help either that I had a woman in back of me whose recurring “Wooooooos!” were almost as loud.
            Does “SpongeBob the Musical” need to be this loud? “American Idiot,” yes. “SpongeBob?” I think not.
            Speaking of the audience, there certainly were kids there on opening night, though most patrons were adults, many of the men in aloha shirts. A few with jackets draped over their SpongeBob T-shirts.
            So this is a stage show that has devoted fans and is likely to have them for years to come. The musical was first produced locally four years ago by Coronado Playhouse. Cygnet is closing its first season at The Joan with “The SpongeBob Musical” and it seems apt for the beginning of summer with its long, sunny days and cold pineapple.
            “The SpongeBob Musical” runs through July 12 at Cygnet Theatre in Liberty Station, Point Loma.