By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
A bittersweet moment arrives for the Utah State University Eastern Theatre Department beginning on Thursday, April 2, as the department opens its production of ‘The SpongeBob Musical’, marking the last production before the theater program is cut.
Based on the hit Nickelodeon show, ‘The SpongeBob Musical’ first debuted in 2016 and has become a critical darling, earning 12 nominations at the 72nd Tony Awards.
Director Steven Nielsen joined the KOAL newsroom to discuss the production, the community involvement and the emotions surrounding the department’s finale.
Aiming to be the biggest and boldest production in the program’s history, the department has engaged the community, inviting residents of Castle Country to contribute to the musical.
“It’s been a better experience than I expected. I have my youngest, who’s 10, and then I have my oldest, who’s been there for years. He’s amazing. But he’s an elderly gentleman. So I have a variety of age groups and we’re going big. And when I say we’re going big, that means we have a big cast.”
The scale of the production extends beyond just the cast, with Nielsen looking to immerse the crowd in Bikini Bottom through a stage design that extends into the audience. “It’s not just going to be on stage. It’s going to be inside the house as well. So you will be entering Bikini Bottom when you enter the theater.”
Continuing on the scale, Nielsen shared,” This is not one to miss. We’re going big. We’re going bold. We’re going to be unforgettable. We’re leaving it all out on the table, or say I should say the stage, and then some, like the community, really should see this one.”
Examining the performance from the student level, Nielsen sang the praise of his cast,” Student level, it’s been awesome. Since it is an education program, I wanted them to come from the university. So the majority of my lead cast members are from the university.”
He continued,” But we’ve been going since January. We held auditions on January 8. And here we are almost to April. We are 90 percent of the way there. But that’s the way theater is. And we’re adding new things every day. And you know, every single day I had a breakdown with my cast because I am seeing the show. It’s breathing on its own now.
Adding to the idea of the play’s progression, Nielsen spoke from the director’s perspective on watching the production approach its final stages,” It’s why I do what I do. It’s, you know, I get to have, like, a child, like I get to have this vision or imaginary creative story in my head. But then I get to watch it develop into something right in front of my face, physically happening. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
The goal of the production is not just to sell tickets, but to send a message, with Nielsen explaining,” My goal is to attempt to sell out this show every night, just to show the university both here and in Logan that, hey, this is something special in this community. We’ll take a pause, but we will be back. The lights are not going out.”
Featuring a genre-blending soundtrack, ‘The SpongeBob Musical’ has something for everyone: “Let me just say this. We have country. We have rock ‘n’ roll. We have gospel. We have 1940s jazz musical theater. There is something for everyone in this show. We have rap. We have hip hop. We are again going big. We’re going bold. No holds barred. Like, here we come.”
Closing our conversation, Nielsen stated,” You will not want to miss this one. You will regret it. Actually, some of our actors have been with the community for a while, and have said this is the best show that’s ever been presented. I want to leave it at that. Come and see the best show we’ve ever done.”
USU Eastern’s production of ‘The SpongeBob Musical’ begins on Thursday, April 2, with subsequent showings on April 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11. All showings will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Geary Event Center. Tickets are available online at Eventbrite.
