SpongeBob SquarePants (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (1,336)
See it if even if you didn't like the cartoon, this is a FUN show. The staging is incredible and the plot keeps you entertained.
Don't see it if You like serious plays only or you don't like fun. If you're expecting something thought-provoking, stay away.
See it if it help to know Sponge Bob a little. Have a break from life and its funny. you like musical.
Don't see it if hate musical, bright colorful, and if you hate Sponge Bob. Read more
See it if you enjoy laughing til your gut hurts.
Don't see it if you don't enjoy a good crabby burger
See it if you enjoyed the original TV show, enjoy flashy sets and costumes, or want to enjoy laugh-filled, family-friendly entertainment.
Don't see it if you want a more serious theatre experience. Read more
See it if you want to experience a spectacle! I don't know the series, but was delighted by the musical staging, talent & deep themes of acceptance.
Don't see it if you want to miss something special. It's a silly, feel-good show, with a heartwarming message. Are you really above all that?
See it if you want to be entertained by a show that is fun from start to finish. Also see it if you aren't a theater snob.
Don't see it if You're a theater snob. What about "Spongebob Squarepants" sounds like an evening of high brow theater is beyond me. Read more
See it if You want to see a musical full of everything you love about musicals!!! This show is absolutely fantastic!!! I smiled from beginning to end!
Don't see it if If don’t want to enjoy every moment of awesomeness that happens onstage at The Palace! So much talent, so much color & joy! High praise!
See it if You love Spongebob and all of the other Bikini Bottom characters! Don't forget about Patchy the Pirate. You want to have a fun experience!
Don't see it if You are looking to hate-watch it.
Critic Reviews (60)
"Tina Landau’s exhaustingly imaginative production...You will probably adore this musical if: a) 'SpongeBob' was a formative influence of your childhood, b) you are a stoner who tokes up to watch reruns of the show on YouTube; or c) if you are (like my date for this show) a parent of 'SpongeBob'-bingeing progeny. If you are none of the above, you will find your patience sorely tested...Tune out until the next amazing set piece, and then gape at the ingenious reconfigurations of objects."
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"A joy. Like its irrepressible yellow hero, played by the peppy and limber-limbed Ethan Slater, the show is unabashedly committed to imagination and dorky enthusiasm...What send the show soaring are David Zinn’s sensational costumes and set...In the end, 'SpongeBob' succeeds because Landau and Zinn make even the most complicated musical staging look and feel like child’s play. It wants you to have fun. Soak it in."
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"It’s a truly gloomy soul who’ll be able to leave without mirroring the dopey grin with which the show’s absorbent yellow hero responds to his buddy’s existential angst...Under the joyfully maximalist hand of Tina Landau, Bikini Bottom gets the more-is-more-is-more-is-more treatment — with a DIY twist that’s both endlessly charming and integral to the production’s spirit...Is it too much? Nah, no such thing...I left realizing that I had smiled for literally every minute of it."
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"In heavy times, we can all use a little nonsense. (The good kind)...Here’s where the real twist comes: the show is very good. This is largely thanks to Tina Landau, its conceiver and director, who fills the stage with visual wit, from giant Rube Goldberg machines that spit out bouncy boulders to Zinn’s relentlessly clever costumes and sets...An all-star roster of artists supplied original songs but the standout is 'I’m Not a Loser,' by They Might Be Giants."
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"There's a certain whiplash effect, to be sure, in jumping from Bowie/Eno gloom rock to bubblegum pop to country to gospel to more conventional show tunes. But there's also a generosity of spirit here that, together with the playful visual imagination and the extremely likeable, racially diverse cast, proves hard to resist...Musical-theater snobs should probably give 'SpongeBob' a wide berth. But audiences willing to go with its demented escapism should find plenty of fun."
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"A head-spinningly packed Act I spends far too long setting up these various threads...Act II is much smoother, and features some of the show’s highlights, like Squidward’s gorgeous tap number...It’s something of a challenge to stay fully invested and interested in this world for two hours and 30 minutes. But 'SpongeBob' certainly deserves points for creativity...Overall, it’s an entertaining, if overstuffed and a bit too experimental, homage to the long-running cartoon."
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"Kyle Jarrow’s book retains the two key elements of the Nicktoon: the cheerful sea sponge’s unquenchable optimism and his selflessly heroic efforts to rescue his friends ...Landau’s hallucinogenic stagecraft transcends the show’s television origins by speaking a visual language that’s three-dimensional and boldly theatrical...It’s not as much of a gimmick as it seems, but without a signature sound, there’s no signature style. What there is, though, is plenty of giddy, goofy fun for all."
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“Ms. Landau and her superb cast never feigned enthusiasm and never just preached to the converted. They believed. And as a technical achievement, the show is extraordinary...Pure silliness readily mixes with knowing kitsch...The cartoon is transformed into a combination campy circus, rock concert and amusement park...In addressing those adolescent issues, the play is fervently sincere peddling pedantic homilies."
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