SpongeBob sings David Bowie – Kommersant

For the theatrical version of the American children’s animated series “SpongeBob SquarePants” premiere is planned for the summer of 2016 in Chicago, the songs will write David Bowie and frontman of rock -group Aerosmith Steven Tyler.

The brainchild of television channel Nickelodeon – animated series “SpongeBob SquarePants”, whose popularity has long outgrown children’s audience – decided to move on the stage. According to the magazine Variety, the show will be called «The SpongeBob Musical» and genre will be a musical. The premiere is scheduled for early June 2016 Oriental Theatre Chicago, then the inhabitants of the fictional town of Bikini Bottom, that at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, will be in New York on Broadway in the 2016-2017 season.

Doing this project is Tina Landau – American playwright and theater director, has repeatedly worked on Broadway and in the well-known and oldest in the United States with a permanent theater troupe Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.

To create the musical material, it was decided to bring the musicians who know how to write really catchy songs. As a result, SpongeBob, Squidward the octopus and starfish Patrick will sing the score, written by renowned experimenter David Bowie, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry (of Aerosmith). Also, as a songwriter will perform: Panic! At the Disco, The Flaming Lips, John Legend, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, who a few years ago has been honored with the award “Tony” for the music for the musical «Kinky Boots». David Bowie, too, is no stranger to working in musical theater, this summer it became known that he had written for a Broadway musical based on the novel by Walter Tevis, tentatively titled “Lazarus” a few songs. He himself appeared on stage in the Broadway play “The Elephant Man,” in which he played Joseph Merrick. According to the Chicago Tribune, the creative director of the TV channel Nickelodeon Russell Hicks, in an interview he said: “All these amazing composers proved to fans of the most famous in the world of sponges – SpongeBob».

Screenwriter perform Kyle Jarrow, composer, poet and writer, author, such theatrical projects as “very fun unauthorized children’s performance on the Scientology” whose main character was the founder L. Ron Hubbard. The plot of the new musical will be based on the canvas, known for the animated film, but viewers are waiting and original stories. Who will play the main jovial Bob’s on Broadway, it is not yet known.

animated series “SpongeBob SquarePants” was released on TV channel «Nickelodeon» for the first time July 17, 1999 and became one of the most popular animated television programs. The main character was invented by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Since its release on the screens of the title character SpongeBob has become a real symbol of pop. Released in February, a full-length animated film “SpongeBob 3D» became the leader of hire in the USA and Canada, raking in $ 311 million.

Elena Kravtsun