Concord Theatricals Awards Schools With THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL Licensing Packages

Concord Theatricals has revealed the 10 winners of their Sing Like a Sponge: The SpongeBob Musical Contest. In celebration of 25 years of Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants, the competition awarded these Title 1 and under-resourced schools and youth groups with a free, three-performance license package to perform The SpongeBob Musical or The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition.
 

The selected programs, located all over the United States and Canada, will present their version of The SpongeBob Musical between September 2024 and December 2025.
 
In addition to providing particulars about their theatre program, applicants were asked: How do your students demonstrate SpongeBob’s endless positivity and spirit in their school community? The essays told engaging and touching stories, ranging from a teacher launching a new theatre program to a school developing their music therapy curriculum for students with disabilities. These productions will offer opportunities for hundreds of students to get involved with the arts, both on and offstage. The schools and youth groups selected represent eight US states and one Canadian province, serving students from elementary through high school.
 
The winning schools are: 23 Miles South Theatre (Homewood, IL), Athens High School Theatre (Athens, TX), Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School (Taunton, MA), Brunswick High School (Brunswick, GA), Conemaugh Valley Elementary (Johnstown, PA), Forest Grove High School Theatre (Forest Grove, OR), James E. Allen Jr/Sr High School (Dix Hills, NY), Pauline Johnson Collegiate and Vocational School (Brantford, ON), PS 41 (Brooklyn, NY) and Upson-Lee High School (Thomaston, GA). For more information on the competition, visit concordtheatricals.com/sing-like-a-sponge.
“We are thrilled to have partnered with Paramount to bring this opportunity to educational programs, especially those that are under-resourced, across North America,” said Billie Davis, Vice President of Amateur Licensing (North America) at Concord Theatricals. “No better title represents how determination, perseverance, and positivity can accomplish anything. These educators and students set an example of how coming together can strengthen us all.”
“SpongeBob SquarePants is all about creativity and being yourself, which makes bringing SpongeBob to schools such a unique and rewarding opportunity,” said Rachel Karpf, Vice President, Experiences and Live Stage, Paramount Consumer Products and Experiences, Paramount. “We’ve seen how much students all over the U.S. and Canada enjoy using their creativity to bring SpongeBob and his friends to life onstage. We were blown away by the submissions for the Sing Like a Sponge: The SpongeBob Musical Contest and can't wait for the winning schools to put on their productions.”

The SpongeBob Musical is based on the beloved animated series created by Stephen Hillenburg and tells the story of the optimistic SpongeBob and his irresistible friends coming together to save their undersea world from volcanic destruction. The musical features a book by Tony Award-nominated, Obie Award-winning writer and musician Kyle Jarrow, with original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alexander Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants and T.I., and songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny and Andy Paley. Additional lyrics are by Jonathan Coulton, with additional music by Tom Kitt. The musical production was conceived by renowned writer, director and Drama Desk Award-winning Tina Landau.

The Broadway production of The SpongeBob Musical earned its place on 2017’s “Best of Broadway” lists including Broadway.com, BuzzFeed, The Chicago Tribune, The Daily Beast, Deadline, ET Online, Forbes, Time Out New York and Variety. The SpongeBob Musical was named Best Musical by the Drama Desk Awards and Outer Critics Circle and earned 12 Tony Award nominations – the most nominated musical of the 2017-2018 theatre season. Following the Broadway run and national tour, the musical has become a favorite around the world, boasting over 2,000 unique productions in more than 20 countries, and earning recognition as one of the most-produced musicals in US high schools in the 2022-23 school year.

Since its premiere on July 17, 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has reigned as the most-watched animated series for 22 consecutive years, while generating a universe of beloved characters, pop culture catchphrases and memes, theatrical releases, consumer products, a Tony award-winning Broadway musical and a global fan base. SpongeBob SquarePants is one of the most widely distributed properties in Paramount Global history, seen in more than 180 markets, translated in 30+ languages, and averaging more than 90 million total viewers every quarter. SpongeBob SquarePants was created by Stephen Hillenburg and produced by Nickelodeon in Burbank, Calif. The character-driven cartoon chronicles the nautical and sometimes nonsensical adventures of SpongeBob, an incurable optimist and earnest sea sponge, and his undersea friends.