CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Kids and parents know the TV show “SpongeBob SquarePants” all too well, but starting Thursday, Kokandy Productions will bring Bikini Bottom to Wicker Park for a musical adaptation about the famous sponge and his friends.
“We have two and a half hours to tell the story of SpongeBob, Sandy and Patrick saving the day from a volcano that's, basically, going to turn Bikini Bottom into Pompeii,” said JD Caudill.
Caudill will be directing “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” at the Chopin Theatre. They told WBBM that while SpongeBob is perhaps best known as a kids' show, the musical grapples with real, intense emotions and can challenge cast members like Frankie Leo Bennett, who plays SpongeBob.
Bennett described SpongBob as a “contemporary beacon of optimism” with a deep-seated love and passion for his friends, family and community.
“What's really cool about mining a character like SpongeBob Squarepants is, yes, he's positive, yes, he's optimistic, but he gets angry, he gets very sad and he gets very frustrated,” Bennett said.
Bennett said that dynamic, mixed with the famous subterranean shenanigans, is what makes the show worth seeing.
“If there's any show this summer that is going to make you want to leave — after laughing and wanting to hug someone — and just embrace the world in all of its flaws and make it a better place, it's gonna be the SpongeBob musical,” Bennett said. “And at the end of the day, we just want you to have the best day ever.”
Bennett said he loves performing in small spaces like the Chopin Theatre and added that the intimacy creates an extra need to make his emotions genuine and believable. Caudill said the setting also creates a benefit for the audience.
“You really get to dive into this story in a way that you don't get to if you're sitting hundreds and hundreds of feet away [and] two floors up from the stage,” Caudill said. “I'm excited to bring the audience along on all of the experiences of these characters.”
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical will run at the Chopin Theatre through Sept. 3, 2023.
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