'SpongeBob SquarePants' Musical Is Testing The Waters In Chicago
(CBS) -- It was seven years ago that Nickelodeon approached Tina Landau -- a theater director with strong ties to Chicago -- about bringing the beloved cartoon "SpongeBob SquarePants" to the stage.
"They wanted to know how do you do this? Is it possible? Is there a reason to do it. How do you put a cartoon character on stage and not replicate what TV already does?" she tells WBBM's Lisa Fielding.
Landau says it's the kind of challenge she was ready to take on. She says they explored the physical life of the show, what the characters would look like and how they would move.
"The goal was always to create something innovative, and unexpected and stay away from big costumed, theme park, puppet characters and really let the live actor transform through physicality and essence into what is believed as an animated character," Landau says.
Ethan Slater, who plays SpongeBob, grew up with the iconic show.
"It really influenced my sense of humor growing up. Everybody I went to college with watched show," he says.
Slater says he's got the voice down pat but started conceptualizing the character four years ago.
"I had to figure out how to morph my face into SpongeBob's crying face -- without any machines, just us, our bodies. It's about physicality. I think it's about finding the innate humanity inside SpongeBob and the relatable emotions he has," he says.
Says Landau: "The great thing about Ethan is there is something of him that is of SpongeBob. His energy and his humor is SpongeBob. There is no one else that could be the character because he IS SpongeBob."
The show's score is a who's who of music. Plain White T's, John Legend, Aerosmith, Cyndi Lauper and David Bowie are just a few of the artists who have written songs especially for the show.
"When I first went to Nickelodeon, the goal was to create a score that was written by a variety of pop and rock and hip hop and gospel and country that I either loved or thought it would be a great match for SpongeBob. Surprisingly, the artists jumped on board with great enthusiasm. The score is amazing," Landau says.
"The SpongeBob Musical" is a pre-Broadway show.
"We are testing the waters, forgive the pun," Landau says. "We want to see what works, what doesn't here in Chicago."
Landau, a Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble member, lives in New York but comes back to Chicago about once a year to direct.
"I love this city and there is no other city I would want to premiere the SpongeBob Musical in," she says. "I think Chicago audiences are very sophisticated because they see a lot and at the same time they are really open and generous and supportive."
Slater says the story of Bikini Bottom and all the characters is about community, optimism and imagination.
"I think audiences will connect with this story and have fun with. They will rethink the importance of community," he says.
"The SpongeBob Musical" opens at the Oriental Theater On Tuesday and runs through July 10.