by Eliza Peddi
Eliza Peddi, a writer for the Oracle, was also a performer the SpongeBob Musical. Here is her account of the behind-the-scenes stories of the show’s successes and near-misses, including “knee curses,” lost cast members, and the birth of the director’s twins!
In February, North Springs Theatre put on a production of The SpongeBob Musical written by Kyle Jarrow. The musical follows SpongeBob and the citizens of Bikini Bottom as they find out that their town will be destroyed by a volcano on the top of the infamous Mount Humongous. SpongeBob’s goal is to do all that he can to save his friends and town to prove that he is no simple sponge.
From the start, the cast knew this production was going to be different from others in recent NSHS history. For starters, this was the first musical that the program had put on since 2019’s The Addams Family and on top of that the director, Joel King, was expecting twins the month the show was set to open.
On October 26, casting was announced, and the next day rehearsals started and continued until February 15. Throughout the next four months, the cast and crew had dance, vocal, and blocking rehearsals nearly every day. After school, the cast that was called would go down to the auditorium, dance rooms, or chorus room depending on what we were working on. On a few occasions though, we did have to cancel rehearsals so Mr. King could prepare for his twin daughters’ birth.
Before the major rehearsals began, an actor decided to drop out, and we had to make a quick cast change. This meant that two of our actors were going into their understudy roles. Those actors were Gracie Underwood, going into the role of Pearl Krabs, and Journey Burks, going into the role of Mrs. Puff.
We also had a few other complications, one of them being that the “Scottish play” curse found its way into the production a month before performances. For context, the Scottish play is Shakespeare’s Macbeth; it is said that if one says the name of the play in a theater, the production being performed will be cursed. This did happen with the cast, and the result is what the cast refers to as the knee curse. Over the course of the production, there were eight injuries, five of which were knee injuries. This would be the start of the knee curse that would last strike during the third show.
As someone who was in the SpongeBob cast, I was very interested in what my cast members thought about the show. I caught up with Solomon Morgan (Sheldon J. Plankton), Lydia Kennedy (SpongeBob SquarePants), Joe Dean (Squidward, co-assistant director, and set designer), and Kyla Baker (Larry the Lobster, a Sardine and a pirate) to talk about SpongeBob.
I was curious about many things, but I started out by asking what the overall production felt like. “It was lots of stress, but I’d say the whole process was pretty good”- Solomon Morgan. “Honestly, it was stressful. It was my first time playing such a major role, and I didn’t really know what to do… So, I guess stressful but worth it.” – Lydia Kennedy. “Both really stressful but fun… and I got to show what I could do, and that was really cool.” – Joe Dean, “Honestly, it was kind of easy and hard at the same time.” – Kyla Baker.
When talking with my castmates so many memories from the show came to mind, and I had to ask what their favorite memory was. “I guess the little things like the traditions that were formed throughout the show.” – Solomon Morgan, “Onstage during the closing, we were singing “Best Day Ever” Though it was extremely sad, I also felt so proud. Our whole journey starting from, I guess November—it just flashed before my eyes. I was so proud of everyone on stage.” – Lydia Kennedy. “There was one time when Kiera (Patrick) and Gracie (Pearl) were hiding in the tunnel, and I had to get to the other side. So I went up to them, and they didn’t see me, and once they noticed me they both just burst out laughing” – Joe Dean, “I don’t know, I guess it was hanging out with everyone when some of the cast went to go see M3GAN.” – Kyla Baker.
For me, I know I’ll miss so much about the show, and I wanted to know what my castmates would miss. “I was at the last show and was thinking of just the bond that we built as a cast…I remember we were singing “Tomorrow Is”. I just remember those songs in vocal rehearsals, and I remember the bond that we formed…” – Solomon Morgan, “Honestly, everything… I like the process of us being together because I wouldn’t get that outside of the theater.” – Lydia Kennedy. “Something that I will miss is, honestly, the cast; I love you guys. I’ve been in a lot of shows with not-so-great casts, and I really love everyone who was a part of this process, and yeah, I’m going to miss you all so much.” – Joe Dean, “Everything, I mean I’m a senior [and] I’m going to miss the productions, and also “When The Going Gets Tough.” It’s one of my favorite numbers.” – Kyla Baker.
SpongeBob had many ups and downs throughout production. We had cast changes, rehearsals were canceled for various reasons, twins were born, and the Scottish play curse came back to North Springs. Even with all of these complications, this production will certainly be one for the books.
