It’s finally happened. The thing that absolutely no one asked for or expected has become a reality. Spongebob Squarepants is now a Broadway musical.

  If you’re a teenager, you probably grew up with Nickelodeon’s cartoon sponge. And if you’re like me, you loved the cartoon. I still can’t help but laugh when I watch the first three seasons.

  I was ecstatic when I first heard about the musical, officially titled, Spongebob Squarepants, The Broadway Musical. But my excitement quickly turned to dread. What if Broadway completely butchers Spongebob (like Nickelodeon’s been doing for over a decade now)?

  Though, after reading into the musical a bit more, my excitement returned. The soundtrack is actually what restored my hope.

  I was caught off-guard by the list of musicians who wrote songs for this musical. The show’s songwriters include artists like Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! at the Disco, Lady Antebellum, Plain White T’s, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, and even a song by the late David Bowie. That’s not even the end of the list.

  I listened to the musical’s entire album, and was really impressed. But then again, with a list of songwriters like that one, it would be hard to mess up this soundtrack.

  Thankfully, the plot stays loyal to the cartoon. Plankton is causing trouble in Bikini Bottom as apart of another scheme to steal the Krabby Patty formula. It’s not a very ambitious story, but I prefer this over Broadway trying to introduce new characters and some convoluted plot.

  From the clips I’ve seen of the show, the actors are doing a good job bringing the characters to life. Keep in mind that these actors are not the cartoon’s voice actors, so they don’t sound exactly like the characters we’ve grown to love. Though, they do as great of a job as you could hope for.

  The script was written by Kyle Jarrow, and the show is directed by Tina Landau. Previews are running now until December 4th, when the show officially opens. Tickets are available now.

  I’m looking forward to seeing my favorite childhood cartoon brought to life on one of the most famous stages in the world.