The excitement was “literally everywhere,” junior Alesandra Ozbek said. The Middle School musical, based on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon, has been a hit on Broadway since its debut in 2017, and before April Break, Parker’s sixth, seventh, and eighth graders brought it to life in the auditorium. 

The cast and stage crew were eager to show everything they’ve learned through the process of being in a musical. “Every single moment you’re on stage, you’re just acting for every part of it,” sixth grade cast member Zoe Coleman-Davis said. “This is actually really important because the people watching you will look at you even if it’s not your part.” 

Members on stage crew expressed the same feelings of importance and responsibility. “When helping with stage crew, I learned to pay attention and listen a lot more because so many people are counting on me to change the sets and everything like that,” stage crew member Ceres Friedlander said. “Stage crew actually does so much work, and we are kind of the reason the musical goes so well.”

Members of the cast and stage crew weren’t the only ones ready for opening night. “I’m not in the musical, but some of my friends are, and I can’t wait to see them perform,” eighth grader Sascha Keller said leading up to the show. “They’ve spent so much time in rehearsal, and I’m so excited to see the final product.”

Director Robert Denien has been impressed with the dedication and talent of the Middle School cast. “They’ve worked so hard, and you can really see it.” 

Denien explained the process begins with picking a musical, which is “way harder than it sounds.”  This challenge is due to the difficulty of “finding a show middle schoolers will enjoy while still being entertaining for the audience.” 

Denien’s choice of SpongeBob is one of the reasons why this year’s cast is so large. “I chose to do the musical because I knew it was SpongeBob,” Coleman-Davis said. “It just sounded really fun to do!” Coleman-Davis explains how this choice created a better community within the cast. “Everyone just looked so happy on stage and I really think this is because the musical was SpongeBob,” she said. “I think that all of us love this show and actually being a part of it makes the musical so fun!” 

However, during this process, there were many challenges for the cast to overcome. “I feel like the hardest part was being at school really late,” cast member Violet Ranney said. “We have so much schoolwork and other things to do, and it sometimes got really overwhelming.” 

Other members explained adapting to the challenges of backstage etiquette, and learning the proper ways to behave during rehearsals. “It was kind of hard for me to watch people touch other people’s props,” Coleman-Davis said. “A lot of the props are handmade, and when this happened, I was scared that they would fall apart.” 

Ranney admits to struggling with talking backstage. “I just get really excited when we’re in rehearsal, and I sometimes want to talk to my friends about the show!” 

For this reason, many of the cast members believe the musical isn’t just about the show itself but the sense of community that comes along with the production. “I think it’s going to be amazing,” Ozbek said. “I still have so many memories from when I was in the middle school musical – it’s an experience I’ll never forget!” 

Denien agrees with Ozbek. “People of all ages at Parker come together to support the musical every year, it’s truly amazing,” Denien said. “I’ve been at Parker for many years, and I can genuinely say that the middle school musical is something special. You can still feel the energy even if you’re not in it.” 

As Denien puts it, This “energy” is created because of the “talented cast, dedicated crew and enthusiastic audience,” making Parker’s middle school’s production of SpongeBob The Musical “a show you can’t miss!”