A splash-tastic quest: “The SpongeBob Musical”

The Drama Department’s spring show “The SpongeBob Musical” brought the familiar cartoon characters to life through lively dance and song. The production was performed March 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22 at the Performing Arts Center (PAC).

The musical follows SpongeBob and his friends as they attempt to save their beloved home from a volcanic eruption. The production, directed by drama director Danny Campbell, took months to put together and was also his first musical since coming to Walnut. Additionally, it was choreographed by Geoffrey Cascio. Behind the scenes, contributions from stagecraft, the pit orchestra and costume crews played essential roles in bringing the fictional world to the audience.

From energetic tap numbers to intricate costumes, the show pushed cast members to expand their performance skills. Rehearsals focused on dance choreography, stage movements, vocals and character building. Actors, notably junior Isaiah Uman who played Squidward, had to adapt to wearing extra legs.

“I learned how to tap at the beginning of the school year, and it came very naturally to me,” Uman said. “A big part of tap is performing, not just the sounds and the steps, so I took inspiration from Fred Astaire, Donald O’Connor and Gene Kelly. The hardest part wasn’t learning the steps, but adjusting to the extra legs. At first, they felt like dead weight, but after wearing them throughout rehearsals, they became a part of me.”

Beyond technical challenges, cast members also worked to embody their characters by analyzing the script and experimenting with vocals. For senior Justin Maestas, who played SpongeBob, finding the balance between too much and too little of SpongeBob was essential in mastering the humorous character.

“It’s all in the mindset and making sure the voice is on point,” Maestas said. “The hardest part was not running out of energy and switching between my SpongeBob voice and my singing voice. The adrenaline from the audience gave me enough energy to push through [the entire show].”

The pit orchestra also played a crucial role in bringing the production to life, requiring coordination with the cast and crew. Unlike traditional concerts, performing in a musical required adjusting to live acting cues and syncing with the on-stage action.

“This show feels a lot more special because it feels like a real broadway show. The combination of music and acting makes it more fun because we can see how it all comes together for things like sound effects or background music,” tenor saxophonist senior Lea Vinculado said.

Energy was a recurring theme among the SpongeBob cast, who credit each other and the audience for keeping spirits high. The production was especially long as the total run-time including intermission was two-and-a-half hours, which is longer than previous musical productions on campus.

“Everyone in the cast hypes each other up, and we feed of each other’s energy, which is how we’re able to keep it up throughout the show. I brought Pearl’s dramatic energy to the stage by bringing out the stereotypical dramatic teenager that everyone thinks of,” senior Savannah Castaneda said. “The audience also plays a really big part in boosting our energy.”