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Hill Country mall books free month-long run of The SpongeBob Musical

The SpongeBob Musical Magnolia Theatre stars

Left to right: Tanner Trigg (Patrick Star), DJ DelVecchio (SpongeBob Squarepants), and Carrigan Young (Sandy Cheeks).

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Theatre

A truly all-ages musical is coming to a huge outdoor mall near Austin this summer. Magnolia Musical Theatre will perform The SpongeBob Musical several times a week at the Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave, from July 16 to August 16.

All performances will be free to attend, and will take place Wednesdays through Sundays starting at 8 pm on the Central Plaza Lawn. Wednesdays will be reserved for senior and accessibility nights, with accommodations for the blind, low vision, deaf, and hard of hearing communities. On Thursdays, there will be ASL interpretation provided by Baylor Scott & White Health.

The SpongeBob Musical (retitled after its Broadway run as SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical) follows beloved TV characters SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star, Sandy Cheeks, and more as they try to stop a volcano from erupting near their home, Bikini Bottom.

Although adults may hear "SpongeBob" and count themselves out as serious audience members, the musical quickly gained acclaim for its impressive score, including numbers written by Plain White T's, Panic! at the Disco, John Legend, The Flaming Lips, Sara Bareilles, Steven Tyler, and more musical celebrities with cross-genre appeal.

The show tied with Mean Girls for the most nominations at the 2018 Tony Awards, with 12 each. Categories included Best Book of a Musical and many individual nominees for Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre. In the end, David Zinn took home the show's sole award, for Best Scenic Design of a Musical.

That means it's up to Magnolia Theatre to deliver an exciting production. The company is a 501c3 nonprofit that exists specifically to bring accessible theater to the Hill Country each summer via the Galleria. The show in 2024 was Footloose, and the year before that, Beauty and the Beast. Spongebob inspired 119 performers to audition, so the casting team had plenty of talent to choose from.

The Hill Country Galleria is located at 12700 Hill Country Blvd. in Bee Cave. Audiences are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs. No tickets are required.

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