During the second and third weekends in August, The Wayne Theatre invites audience members to join cast and crew in a little place called Bikini Bottom.
The Wayne Theatre will present The SpongeBob Musical, a “celebration of optimism and creativity and community,” in the words of director Lesley Larsen.
For fans of the television cartoon, which began in 1999, the iconic characters they love will be on stage, including the always positive SpongeBob SquarePants.
Amidst an existential crisis in Bikini Bottom, some characters panic and sing an original song by David Bowie titled “No Control.”
In preparing the cast and show, Larsen and Wayne Theatre Director of Education Corey Holmes studied the works of the composers to ensure the choreography did justice to each song.
“So that we could be in tune with the style and genre of the song,” Larsen said.
Larsen considers SpongeBob to be one of the neatest scripts to direct on stage because it is written so that audience members “walk into the world of Bikini Bottom, not look at it.” She said the production is brought to audiences in a way that no production at The Wayne has been done.
“The show really does ultimately transcend its animated roots,” Larsen said.
Forty-one actors will bring the production to the stage, and Larsen hopes that audience members take away the importance of community.
“I think what’s important is to realize this story, at its heart, is a story of friendship, courage and resilience in the face of adversity,” Larsen said.
The creators of the musical treat each cartoon character as real humans, not cartoons on stage. Actors were encouraged to “treat each situation as real. How would you behave if your town were about to be consumed by lava?”
According to Larsen, SpongeBob is the biggest set and production by The Wayne and with the most props ever used.
“That’s the beauty about this show is you don’t have to know anything about these characters to get something from it,” said Adam Holmes, who will portray “Patchy the Pirate.” Audiences have enjoyed Holmes’s talents in previous productions as set designer of The Little Mermaid, drums in the band for Little Shop of Horrors and as a stage photographer.
SpongeBob is his first time on the stage performing in a cast.
In preparing for his role as a human pirate, who is SpongeBob’s No. 1 fan, Holmes said he fell in love with the song “Poor Pirates.”
“The character just kind of goes with my natural talent,” Holmes said.
The costumes in the production “evoke these characters,” according to Holmes, and are personifications of the cartoon characters.
“They are very much people living in this town dealing with a crisis,” he said.
Music was written originally for the production, which was first performed on Broadway in 2016, by artists including The Flaming Lips, David Bowie, Steven Tyler and Panic at the Disco.
“It is a great time. One of the things that I’m going to take away from it, and I hope others do too, is it’s a very timely message,” Holmes said.
A volcanic eruption in Bikini Bottom leaves residents feeling that the situation is out of their control. The existential crisis of the situation brings about feelings of dread and fear among SpongeBob’s friends. Some find comfort in benefitting from the crisis, such as the media and the town mayor, but SpongeBob and his friends see the harm and reject that behavior.
“Believing in our own abilities to change things for the better,” Holmes said of another message intended for audiences.
The production also conveys a message about the power of community.
“It’s a joy to be a part of. It’s a very hopeful and timely message,” Holmes, who moved to Waynesboro from Northern Virginia two years ago, said. He added that he thinks the show sets a new bar for productions at The Wayne.
The SpongeBob Musical will be performed Aug. 9 to 11 and Aug. 16 to 18. Tickets are available online.
The Wayne Theatre is at 512 W. Main St., Waynesboro.
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Rebecca Barnabi
