The Spongebob Musical At The Alhambra Bradford Review

Reviewed by Jenny Bray

This musical is a fun, heartwarming story about the importance of friendship, courage and working together, told in a bright, family friendly, Spongebob way.

Spongebob has been around as a cartoon since 1999. I hadn’t realised that it had initially been made in to a musical in 2015, first airing in Chicago in 2016 before moving on to Broadway in 2017 and also having been adapted to various other countries, including Greece and Germany! I also hadn’t realised that so many famous musicians had input in to the songs.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect upon venturing to see this show, which is the Uk’s premiere tour. I have watched a bit of Spongebob in my time, both as a student and with my children, but I wasn’t quite sure how it would convert from a television cartoon to a musical in the theatre.

The storyline is a very relevant one, which must be different from the Broadway version in 2017 as; Bikini Bottom is being threatened by the impending doom of Mount Humongous exploding and ending the city. They must all stay at home, until the mayor (Rebecca Lisewski) of 10 Drowning Street tries to think of other solutions, well just garbles really with no solutions at all. Who’d have thought that of a politician? Plankton (Divina De Campo) has a cunning plan, which will also hugely benefit him. Spongebob (Lewis Cornay) has to prove that he is not just a simple sponge and he, Patrick (Irfan Damani) and Sandy (Chrissie Bhima) come up with an idea to save Bikini Bottom while everyone else is panicking. Gary has to feature several times of course.

I was surprised at the adult to child ratio of the audience. There were lots of children there but there were also quite a few groups of just adults, proving that this show appeals to a wide age range and audience.

The plot being based around covid type events made it relatable for all ages. It is completely age appropriate for all children. It is bright and engaging but also keeps the adults entertained too. There are some hints to themes during the pandemic that adults may get more than children, such as a blithering major and someone running around stage with a huge bag of toilet roll during the panic stage.

I took my 10 year old with me to this and he really enjoyed it. His favourite characters were Patrick and Squidward. I have to say that Tom Read Wilson had some amazing facial expressions as Squidward, enhanced by his bright hair and make up.

The songs are catchy, although none stood out vocally for me. I enjoyed Spongebob’s solo about not just being a simple sponge, during which the stage was darkened and UV lights were used to highlight various sponges moving around him. Spongebob and Patrick also do a BFF song near the start, which is more amusing than vocally engaging, with Patrick not being the brightest and struggling with understanding what Spongebob is on about!

The costumes were very bright, with big, colourful wigs too. The costumes kept the realism of the people playing the characters rather than becoming overly cumbersome yet more in line with the cartoon character shapes. This worked really well and I particularly liked Squidward’s (Tom Read Wilson) costume, with 4 legs, which were co-ordinated as well as a suitable noise when he moved across stage. I also liked Plankton’s outfit combined with hairdo. Mr Crab’s (Richard J Hunt) costume, complete with claws and the fact that he moved in a crab like way, also worked well. Even Patrick’s much more simple costume worked well and I loved how Irfan Damani played his character.

Spongebob is well portrayed without needing to actually wear a square sponge or any sponge of any type. The costumes helped depict different characters of the ensemble well, as the cast for this show is surprisingly compact considering the number of characters and people required in some scenes. The costumes were enhanced by bright make up and the actors exaggerated facial expressions were really in keeping with the show.

The set was Bikini Bottom and always had a submarine type element to the rear of the stage, with musicians in place behind this. At the front of the stage were Chum Bucket and The Krusty Krab as well as lots of bubble silhouette lights at the top of the stage. Other parts of set were brought on and off stage as needed, including Spongebob’s pineapple home and Patrick’s rock home.

The Alhambra is fairly central and easy to find. We parked for just £1 (all evening after 6pm) in the car park behind the National Science and Media Museum just down the road. There are bars and a cafe as well as sweets and ice cream available in the interval.

This is a truly family friendly show, which is also appealing for adults. It was fun, enthralling and very colourful and I can see it being a big hit. I’d recommend it if you have children who have ever watched Spongebob as they will be captivated by the charm, costumes and sheer energy on stage. It’s also handy that it’s an earlier start than other shows at 7pm and they are also doing 2pm showings.

Rating: I rate it a 4.5/5

Tickets cost from £20 to £45 (inclusive of booking fee)
The Spongebob Musical is on at Bradford Alhambra between 18th and 22nd April 2023.
For more information or to book tickets visit www.bradford-theatres.co.uk or call the Box Office on 01274 432000
Bradford Theatres, The Alhambra Theatre, Morley Street, Bradford, BD7 1AJ
For further tour dates please visit; https://www.spongebobstage.com/#Tour-Dates