‘SpongeBob Musical’ is light-hearted if overlong

It’s been many years since I sat my children down in front of ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ for a quick parenting break. But life in Bikini Bottom has gone on, it seems. The animated TV program is one of Nickelodeon’s longest-running children’s series, with characters and a theme tune recognized all over the world. Its appealing message is reassuringly simple: the world is a good place where bullies never win, and things always come right in the end.

The two-and-a-half-hour-long musical version, now being performed at Santa Rosa Junior College, is right on message.

Bikini Bottom, home of SpongeBob and his merry pals, is under threat from the imminent eruption of an underwater volcano. Despite the panic and despair of the other inhabitants, the eternally optimistic SpongeBob saves the day, assisted by scientist Sandy Cheeks (an underwater squirrel, who knew?), temporarily thwarted by arch villain Sheldon J. Plankton, and ultimately helped by his BFF Patrick.

It’s probably not a spoiler to say there’s a happy ending, folks.

The plotline may be thin, but there’s plenty of music, energy and enthusiasm to go around in the SRJC production. Samuel J. Gleason plays a cheery SpongeBob with a strong singing voice, while Aidan Pryor is amusing as Patrick, and Phoebe Pruitt as Sandy Cheeks brings energy and charm along with her outsider perspective on life at Bikini Bottom. Colette Van Meter gives a standout vocal performance as Squidward, the mildly morose and slightly sneaky (but not really bad) character who also turns out to do a mean tap dance with all those extra legs. Calvin Sandeen is Sheldon, the larger-than-life piece of plankton who hams up being the villain of the piece in a way that all children love. Anderson Templeton as Patchy the lovable pirate had the little boy in front of me yelling, “Run, Patchy, run!” which is exactly how things are supposed to go.

The rest of the large cast performed with great animation – as indeed, they should.

The production elements for this show are impressive and seemingly high budget, including the eye-catching set (Peter Crompton), lighting design (Robin de Luca) and sound design (Grace Reid). There’s a myriad of colorful costumes designed by Coleen Scott Trivett with help from milliner Laurie Osborne and wig stylist Roxie Johnson (my favorite were the jellyfish, although the baseball “Pirates” shirt was a close second), and plenty of cartoon-like props (Theo Bridant).

Director Reed Martin and choreographer Alyce Finwall use all the space available to drive this musical’s rather lumbering momentum as best they can, ably supported by the live band under the direction of Nate Riebli. A shout-out to stage manager Abby Miranda and her crew for keeping it all rolling fairly merrily along.

Despite the host of well-known pop stars who were brought in to write the original show tunes, there aren’t many songs that will sound familiar or even struck me as particularly catchy. And although this cast undoubtedly gave its all, there were tuning issues during the songs that detracted significantly at times from an otherwise enjoyable experience.

Two-and-a-half hours is overlong for a children’s show, especially in a cold auditorium. But if you’re looking for a fun and good-hearted spectacle to entertain the youngest members of the family over the holiday, this one will fit the bill. Just bring coats and maybe cookies because it’s going to last a while.

Note this production briefly uses strobe lighting.