(no subject)

[shadowkat]

1. SpongeBob SquarePants the Musical

Eh...it was fun for the most part, but also way too loud. Reminded me a great deal of Spamalot and Avenue Que except on Speed. And in the music arena, more Spamalot. There aren't any catchy tunes or songs. I've no clue why it was nominated for a Tony.

But, it was fun. I was sitting near a small child who was having a blast. Also a lot of twenty-thirty somethings who loved it to pieces. They apparently grew up with the cartoon. (I discovered it while interviewing for a job at Nickleodean in 2003.) Also my co-workers talk about it a lot because they either grew up with it or their kids watched it.

There's an underlying socio-political satire to the musical that again reminded me a great deal of Avenue Que. It's very adult in places and a lot of the humor would go over a kid's head.

They also have a lot of playful stunts. Wirework with a jet pack, big plastic balls rolling down to the stage. Graffitti and bubbles falling from the sky at the end.

Yet...it's very loud. At one point, I wanted ear-plugs. My friend had her fingers in her ears. They were screaming into their microphones and we were sitting near the front of the Mezzanine, so above yet not far from the stage. I felt like I was being blasted with sound.

So...lukewarm recommendations. It's okay. I can see why it's closing in September. The performance they gave on the Tony's really is the only true highlight from the show.

2. Hot and humid day. Considering doing laundry, but not sure I want to deal with it. It's hot down there in the basement. And someone else was down there last I checked. I might try again in a minute or two.

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

I always carry earplugs with me and when we go to the movies Mike always does as well. It's frustrating because you can't hear the murmurs but the music and explosions and so on are so painfully loud. There's so many reasons to watch at home instead.

Glad it was fun though even if not terribly memorable.

[shadowkat]

Yeah, my friend had brought them but forgot to put them in. I looked over at her, and she was dying. Particularly during one sequence that she left during for the bathroom. The singer was "screeching" "Daddy" high pitched...into a microphone. It hurt my ears.

And the feedback..ugh.

But it was fun with great costumes and some funny bits here and there. I looked at the cartoon -- and it fits the cartoon.

[cjlasky7]

I was watching Blade Runner 2049 at home and the sound mix drove me insane. The dialogue was half-whispered/half-mumbled, and every time we turned up the sound to catch what people were saying, the film would inevitably switch to a scene with a jet engine or an explosion, and blow our eardrums out.

It was extremely frustrating.

[shadowkat]

LOL! That's one of the reasons I gave up on Blade Runner 2049, it was impossible to hear what people were saying. Also too much focus on visuals, and not enough on story. I was bored and irritated.

I have similar issues with anything done by Shondra Rhimes...for some reason she likes to do a voice over, song track and dialogue all at the same time! I have to turn on close-captioning, which is interesting, because the close captioning can't decide which to provide the song lyrics, the voice over, or the dialogue.

Sound editing is an art.

[promethia_tenk]

They will make anything into a musical, won't they? I'm too old for Spongebob to be nostalgic for me, but it is what I would watch in college after I'd pulled and all-nighter and was too zombie-fied to do anything but stare at utterly undemanding tv.

[shadowkat]

but it is what I would watch in college after I'd pulled and all-nighter and was too zombie-fied to do anything but stare at utterly undemanding tv.

LOL! That's why my co-worker watches it, he's 68. He finds it comforting.

I checked out the cartoon (never saw it, just snippets of it). It came out in 1999 apparently. It was created by a marine biologist -- which explains a lot. I'm thinking he must have created it while taking LSD or on trip. The cartoon is rather trippy. And is the highest rated program on Nikleodeon, which explains why it ended up becoming a musical. Apparently they decided if Disney could do it with their animated films, they could too. You should have seen the picture taking before the show, at intermission, and the lines at the souvenir stands. Not to mention the lines we had to navigate our way through just to exit the building, which were for autographs. It has a fandom.

My only exposure to it was that job interview at Nikleodean.