Crocus rebuilding drama program with ‘The SpongeBob Musical’

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This article was published 08/04/2023 (1270 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School students spent Good Friday afternoon immersing themselves in the sights and sounds of Bikini Bottom, rehearsing for a local production of “The SpongeBob Musical” that’s set to debut this upcoming Thursday in Brandon.

Despite showtime being less than a week away, director Ramey Praznik told the Sun that her cast and crew are more excited than nervous, especially since this award-winning musical gives them a lot to chew on.

“There are so many costumes, so many props,” said Praznik, who works as a guidance counsellor at Crocus Plains and has directed 11 other productions for the high school.

“There’s more to this musical than any … play or musical I’ve ever performed in or directed.”

Originally debuting at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre in 2016, “The SpongeBob Musical” became an immediate hit with audiences and critics through combining characters from the classic Nickelodeon cartoon, “SpongeBob SquarePants,” with original songs courtesy of high-profile recording artists.

The list of famous contributors includes The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco and Plain White T’s, which helped to bring the beloved source material to a brand-new audience.

“I’ll be honest, when it was on Broadway, before I heard the music or knew anything about it, I thought ‘I am never going to see that musical,’” said Praznik, who’s watched the cartoon with her kids for the last two decades but originally doubted its viability as a stage production.

“But then I listened to the music, which is amazing … so once you listen to the soundtrack, there’s no turning away from it.”

Because of the strength of the material, Praznik is also hoping “The SpongeBob Musical” will help Crocus continue to rebuild its drama program, which endured a multi-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Praznik said that even when Crocus’ drama department was able to return last spring with a local production of “Little Shop of Horrors,”they had to navigate a bunch of self-imposed health restrictions.

“Last year’s [show] was a different situation because our audience had to be in masks. We had to be in masks when we were off stage,” she said.

“We had a smaller cast because … we were worried about COVID and we double cast because if someone got sick then we would have another person to step in.”

Thankfully, Praznik said, prepping for “The SpongeBob Musical” much more closely resembles Crocus’ drama program from the pre-pandemic era, with this year’s cast also being armed with the tools and knowledge that could have only been learned under the shadow of COVID.

“So what did we learn? Just that no matter what, it’s important to keep creating and performing art, because it brings us together and it gives us light when everything was feeling really heavy and dark,” she said.

This year’s Crocus theatre production has also attracted its fair share of first-timers, including Grade 12 student Tom Strange who is portraying the character Patchy the Pirate.

While Strange has choir and dance experience under his belt, he hasn’t taken part in a full theatrical production until now, with such an option not even being available throughout his first two years of high school.

But after watching Crocus’ rendition of “Little Shop of Horrors” last spring, Strange decided to make up for lost time and throw himself into this production, which has presented a series of interesting challenges and adjustments.

“There’s a lot to theatre that I really didn’t understand, like having to always be ‘on,’” he said. “Like when you’re on stage and always having a facial expression that’s matching the situation that’s going on … that was probably the most challenging part, just because the singing and dancing is stuff I’ve experienced already.”

However, Strange said his overall experience as a member of the “SpongeBob” cast has been “amazing” so far and he encourages any fellow student to make a similar leap of faith into drama before they graduate high school.

“You learn so much,” he said. “And it’s not just about learning about theatre stuff. It’s about putting yourself out there. It’s life skills you’re learning also.”

Crocus Plains is staging “The SpongeBob Musical” at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium.

Tickets can be purchased online at wmca.ca, in person at the WMCA box office or by calling 204-728-9510.

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