Review-The Sponge Who Could Fly
April 23, 2009
Date April 22nd 2009
Venue: Sunderland Empire
Taking a TV cartoon and transplanting it on to stage will never be easy, but can be done successfully, as shown with Scooby Doo, which is currently undertaking a second national tour with a new stage adventure.
On this occasion we have Nickelodeon’s Spongebod Squarepants in The Sponge Who Could Fly, a new musical adventure and I had to rely on my youngest daughter to vouch for the quality of screen to stage success. She gave the production full marks even though she spotted the changes in the story from the TV version it was taken from But she was less than impressed that Spongebob appeared to have used the wrong part of his hairdryer to blow up his trousers, which if effect gave him the ability to fly.
She sat very still engrossed in the story for the entire time (45 minutes first half then 35 minutes second half) which was more than could be said for a lot of the audience. I always feel that the test of a good children’s show is to monitor the trips to the toilet made by the audience. Unfortunately, using that philosophy, during the first fifteen minutes of the second half a total of eleven children in four separate parties passed me to visit the toilet, which added to the noise around us showed children were not gripped by the events on stage. As it was a TV version transferred to the stage with added songs they were maybe all too aware of what was coming next and apart from Patchy the Pirate introducing the story there was little in the way audience participation.
The production is colourful but some costumes looked a bit tired and worn, especially in the case of Patrick Star and Squidward (whose knees had certainly seen better days). While the children did not seem to notice, the adults did and as they are the ones paying for the tickets. In the programme there is an interesting credit for “scenic refurbishment” provided by All Scene All Props, which suggests the production has been on the road a long time. The only impressive set was for the “Flying Dutchman” which worked well despite a technical hitch which allowed behind the backcloth to be seen.
On a positive note the whole production was colourful and moved at a cracking pace, although the sound quality made the dialogue hard to understand a lot of the time, with the exception of Mr Krab (Martin Johnston) whose booming voice could be clearly heard. The whole story, for what it was, revolved around Spongebob wanting to fly and of course he got his wish. Chris Coxon as the title character needs to be congratulated here as he showed total trust in the flying sequences, designed by Paul Rubin and produced by Hall Associates Flying Effects. He literally hurtled around the stage, soaring and diving at great speed without losing his smile once.
So while the children (and let’s remember that is who this show is aimed at) seemed to enjoy the show overall, despite the numerous trips to the toilet, as a parent higher production values are needed if there is to be a second tour of Spongepants.
John Dixon
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