Still from the promo for SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical.
Is it us or is this year's Tony Awards lineup more Humboldt than anticipated? For one thing, locally grown songstress/composer/Broadway star Sara Bareilles is slated to co-host Broadway's biggest night on June 10 with Josh Groban (a man with a beard who is evidently also musically inclined but not from here so let's stay focused). And among the nominees announced today is Ms. Bareilles herself as a member of the team credited for composing the score for SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical. And yes, that is a thing. The video below should give you an idea.
The undersea romp picked up a dozen nods, including Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical and Best Musical. As any fan of the animated sponge will tell you, cartoon creator Stephen Hillenburg is a Humboldt State University alum who drew inspiration from our landscape and burger joints.
Hey, parents: Sounds like there's a whole musical score for our kids to learn and sing over and over and over.
Bio:
Jennifer Fumiko Cahill is the arts and features editor of the North Coast Journal. She won the Association of Alternative Newsmedia’s 2020 Best Food Writing Award and the 2019 California News Publisher's Association award for Best Writing.