Local production of ‘SpongeBob’ musical ready to laugh its way to stage

ROYAL OAK — The familiar sounds of Bikini Bottom will be making their way to Royal Oak soon.

The Stagecrafters Youth Theatre presentation of “The SpongeBob Musical,” which tells the story of Bikini Bottom facing the destruction of its world and needing a hero to step up, will run July 14-23 at the Baldwin Theatre, located at 415 S. Lafayette Ave. The Stagecrafters Youth Theatre features members ages 8-18 participating in live theater.

Playing the lead role of SpongeBob SquarePants is 14-year-old Jack Steiger, of Oxford. Steiger said SpongeBob was his dream role.

“This musical has been one of my favorites for a long time,” he said. “I thought as soon as I heard that this was the summer musical, I knew that I had to try and audition, because if you don’t try, then you never know if you’re gonna succeed.”

“I never really got to watch the show too much,” he continued. “I love his happy and enthusiastic energy. When everything goes wrong, he still somehow keeps a grin on his face and he makes every day the best day ever.”

Alongside SpongeBob, as always, will be his best friend, Patrick Star, played by Rocco Morrow, of Royal Oak.

In taking part in rehearsals over the past several months, Morrow, 15, said his favorite part of the process has been seeing how everyone interprets their characters.

“We have a great cast and I every day go into rehearsal (and) genuinely laugh at some of the ways that people play their characters, how they say certain lines,” he said.

“Patrick isn’t the brightest of characters,” he elaborated. “So it’s kind of fun to play with how he processes information and how he acts during different situations. It’s a very fun experience to play this character. I’m very grateful for this role.”

Steiger said the rehearsal process has been a tough one for him because of how much he has to be onstage, whether that is him memorizing his lines, the dances or his blocking, but he also called it one of the most fun processes he’s been able to take part in.

“I’m constantly onstage and I get to pretend with my friends, and we get to play pretend and it’s awesome,” he said. “It’s been really fun and it’s gone very well because I think we’re in a really good state now and I am very happy with how this has turned out so far.”

With the musical ready to bow this week, both Steiger and Morrow feel ready for the big show.

“I’m very excited,” Morrow said. “I think we have a really great show here and I’m very excited to see how the general public reacts to it and just having a fun time onstage.”

“It’s going to be really good and I’m excited and I think that the whole cast is ready to perform one of my favorite shows,” added Steiger.

Tickets for the show cost $10 for youths and $15 for adults, with a $3 fee per ticket. They can be purchased at stagecrafters.org or by phone at (248) 541-6430.