The first thing you need to know is that SpongeBob Squarepants is getting his own Broadway musical. The second thing you need to know is The SpongeBob Musical is absolutely stacked with A-list musical talent.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the musical based around the Nickelodeon cartoon character will feature original songs from David Bowie, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Lady Antebellum, T.I., They Might Be Giants, Panic! At The Disco, Plain White T’s, John Legend, Cyndi Lauper, The Dirty Projectors and Jonathon Coulton.
Director Tina Landau said she’ll keep the show’s “trippy humor and irreverence” while working with the characters in a “whole new way that can only be achieved in the live medium of the theatre.”
“We’re taking our leads from the TV show but this is an original story, with an original design approach, and original songs written just for the occasion by an amazing array of songwriters,” said Landau in a statement.
Nickelodeon President of Content Development and Production Russell Hicks said the songs were “culled from a dream team of SpongeBob fans who happen to be top-flight musical artists.”
The musical is slated to start in Chicago in June 2016 before moving on to New York City for the 2016-17 Broadway season. It won’t be the first time SpongeBob has brought together massive talents. The most-recent SpongeBob movie caused a N.E.R.D. reunion.