More than two decades after its debut, the Nickelodeon cartoon SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS remains as popular ever. For those of you who haven’t yet dipped you toe in the SpongeBob ocean let me tell you a little about our absorbent friend.
Bob is an incredibly human-like sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea in the idyllic town of Bikini Bottom. He lives next door to Patrick, a starfish who is sweet but dumb as the rock he lives under and Squidward, a misanthropic octopus who is consistently annoyed by SpongeBob and Patrick’s antics.
You keeping up?
SpongeBob and Squidward work at the Krusty Krab, a fast food joint that is owned by Mr. Krabs, who is avaricious enough to make Scrooge McDuck appear charitable.
And that my ocean loving friends is all you need to know ahead of the arrival this week of THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL to the Wales Millennium Centre.
The show has been a smash hit on Broadway and very much is based on the series by Stephen Hillenburg, with book by Kyle Jarrow. Now this is a musical with some fantastic songs, from some of the biggest names in music. Just go to the bottom of the page to play the soundtrack as you read along.
There’s original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants and T.I. and songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny and Andy Paley. Additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton. Additional music by Tom Kitt. Musical production conceived by Tina Landau.
The cast sailing into the Bay this week is pretty top-notch too. GARETH GATES is Squiward, DIVINA DE CAMPO is Sheldon J. Plankton, LEWIS CONWAY is SpongeBob, IRFAN DAMANI is Patrick, CHRISSIE BHIMA is Sandy, RICHARD J HUNT is Mr Krabs.
The rest of the cast includes SARAH FREER as Pearl, ELOISE DAVIES as Mrs Puff, HANNAH LOWTHER as Karen and REBECCA LISEWSKI as Mayor. They are joined by SAM BEVERIDGE, JEREMIAH OLALEYE, ELEANOR TURIANSKY, RHYS BATTEN and REECE KERRIDGE.
Gareth is of course no stranger to these here parts having played a mighty fine Aladdin a couple of years ago in the Capital. You can look back at our interview with Gareth then – HERE.
Gareth shot to fame 21 years ago now (I know), coming runner up in the UK’s first Pop Idol. He went on to sell over 5-million records worldwide including five UK number-one singles. His theatre credits include playing Marius in the both the West End and 25th Anniversary Tour of Les Misérables, Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the West End and on tour, Warner in the UK tour of Legally Blonde and Willard in the UK tour of Footloose.
Now he is the brilliant Squidward in the family show, The SpongeBob Musical we just had to have a chat about the part and thhe character.
Gareth, Squidward is known for his somewhat gloomy outlook on life, now we’ve met many times before and I don’t think that’s you, so it must be nice tapping into someone very different for you?
“He is absolutely nothing like me, but that’s why I love playing the role so much. We are each so different in our outlook on life that escaping into his character is a really enjoyable change!
What’s really been fun about him is that he tap-dances, and I’ve never tapped in my life! I had three lessons before rehearsal started, and so they threw me straight in the deep end, pardon the pun. However, I’m really thrilled to have learnt a brand-new skill.â€
We can see from the outfit there’s quite a transformation for you, tell us a little about the costume.
“My costume looks amazing, and I seem to have acquired two extra legs! As if tap dancing with two wasn’t hard enough, now I have another pair to contend with.
What’s so brilliant about the costumes in SpongeBob are that they’re so vibrant and bright and really catch your eye. We are the citizens of Bikini Bottom, as you know and love them, but with a bit of a twist for the stage.â€
Over the years, thanks to my son, I’ve endured many a happy hour with SpongeBob on Nickelodeon, can you give us a little idea of the plot of the musical?
“Essentially, the story is about a community coming together. A volcano under the sea is about to erupt and completely destroy the town of Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob is the only citizen who remains optimistic about the survival of their little community.  In the face of adversity, the people of Bikini Bottom work together to try and save the day.
It’s not just a feel-good show, but also heart-warming and touching and will 100% appeal to both kids and adults alike.â€
This musical has been a massive hit, receiving an amazing 12 Tony Award nominations when it played on Broadway, what do you think makes it such a great show, and what are you enjoying most about it?
“There are two elements of the show that I absolutely love. The first is the music, written by so many huge artists, they’re all so catchy. The second is the script – it’s so funny and I think that’s definitely what will appeal to the adults, and people who grew up loving SpongeBob.
The line up of composers for this show is mind-blowing! My favourite song to perform is my big number at the end of act two. It’s called ‘I’m not a loser’. It’s very typical of a Broadway hit, think 42nd Street meets Chicago! And I get to be the centre of it all!â€
Incidentally, Were you a fan of SpongeBob the cartoon before joining the cast?
“I have a daughter who is 13, and she used to watch it when she was little and so I was very aware of it, and I’ve always loved its humour.â€
We remember you from those early days on Pop Idol with Will Young, and now you’re a hugely celebrated musical theatre performer Gareth. How did you initially find the transition into theatre?
“The first thing I ever did was perform in The King and I at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford at the age of five. And then, at the age of eight, I played a leading role in a school production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which is when I discovered I could sing.
Then in 2009, I had an audition with Andrew Lloyd Webber himself who offered me the leading role of Joseph in the West End. This then led onto me playing Marius in the brand-new 25th Anniversary of Les Misérables, then the same role in the West End version alongside Samantha Barks and Lucie Jones. I’ve also been lucky enough to tour the UK in Footloose and Legally Blonde. It’s been an incredible journey throughout my whole life really, and I’m very grateful for the opportunities. The transition from pop music to theatre was actually quite natural as this is where it all really began for me.â€
Clearly you’re fond of all the touring around the UK you do?
“I absolutely love touring. You get to take this piece of work that you have worked so hard on, with such a wonderful team of people and introduce it to lots of different parts of the country.â€
Obviously I’m really looking forward to seeing you at the Wales Millennium Centre next week in The SpongeBob Musical, but who is the show for?
“The show really is for the entire family. The vibrant aesthetics of the show really will appeal to the kids as well as it’s infectious energy. Whilst the music and scripts will really draw in all of the adults in the audience, especially if you loved SpongeBob when you were younger!â€
Divina (Sheldon J. Plankton) is a seasoned British drag queen and singer who was recently crowned runner up on the first Series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Known for her high soprano and four -octave range, Divina has been featured on ITV’s The Voice and the BBC’s All Together Now. Her critically acclaimed theatre credits include Mary Sunshine in Chicago and most recently her award nominated performance as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
If you do bump into Lewis (SpongeBob) ask him about the Blue Peter badge he’s just received. I think he’s pretty prood of that one. He was most recently seen as Amos in Whistle Down The Wind at The Watermill. His West End credits include The Book of Mormon, The King and I, The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. As a writer, Lewis had his debut play Daddy Issues premiere at the Seven Dials Playhouse last year.
SPONGEBOB THE MUSICAL gets to the Wales Millennium Centre this week from Tuesday 6th through to Saturday 10th June. Performances are at 7pm each evening with a 2pm matinee on Wednesday and Saturday. Tickets start at £12 with a whole range of prices in between. For more details, and to get yours, go HERE.
