The theater arts program will open the fall musical “The SpongeBob Musical” Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the cafetorium.

“We call the opening night gala night,” theater director Greta Peterson said. “Gala night tickets are purchased from advanced theater students or you can email me.”

Gala night Tickets cost $10 and are limited in quantity. There are also $15 specialty tickets for themed tables with extra snacks and decorations. Specialty tickets are sold out. At gala night, guests receive gift bags with show themed items in them, cake pops and a meet and greet with the cast. 

“I love the gala night because we get to meet the audience before we perform,” sophomore Samantha Sturgeon said. “It makes the show a little bit more personal because those are your family and friends out there and that makes it so special to me.”

The cast will also perform Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Tickets for these performances will be sold for $5 at the entrance.

“I am excited for the first song Bikini Bottom Day,” Sturgeon Said. “I get to move around a lot and it’s just so silly.”

“The SpongeBob Musical” features over 10 songs and has a run time of about an hour. The Musical is based on the children’s television cartoon “SpongeBob Square Pants.” The version the theater company is performing is a youth edition of the original broadway musical “The Spongebob Musical: Live on Stage!” 

“The Musical is about SpongeBob and his friends going on an adventure to save their town, Bikini Bottom,” Peterson said. “The town is under the threat of a huge volcano erupting and SpongeBob, with the help of friends, has to find a way to stop it from destroying everything he loves.”

The theater company chose to do “The SpongeBob Musical” last school year. Advanced theater students and incoming freshmen auditioned and were cast in May. Cast members rehearse on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in preparation for the show.

“My favorite part of preparation is learning the choreography,” theater president Cara Mitchell said. “When we are doing choreo all of us are so bad in the beginning that we laugh so hard and it’s really funny. I also like painting the set. The colors are so wacky and not like anything we’ve used in the past.”

Mitchell is the only senior in the advanced theater class, making the musical a bittersweet experience for her. Mitchell plays a lead role as Sandy Cheeks, SpongeBob’s friend, a squirrel from Texas who lives in the Pacific Ocean. Mitchell hasn’t acted in a show since her freshman year because she is typically stage manager. For her final musical, she decided to do both.

“It makes me feel a little sad that this is my last musical, but I’m excited to be on the other side and actually act in it for a change,” Mitchell said. “So I’m happy that I’m acting in my last musical instead of just stage managing. I’m also content with this being my last musical because it is so fun and happy.” 

Sturgeon plays the lead SpongeBob. This is her biggest role yet and she feels confident. 

“In the last show I had to wear a bathing suit so this is nothing compared to that,” Sturgeon said. “Honestly the biggest obstacle I’ve faced is just running out of breath. A lot is happening and it’s happening fast, so it takes a minute for me to catch my breath.” 

Some elementary students who attended the theater program’s theater camp over the summer will also be featured in the musical. Theater students refer to them as “littles” and teach them choreography and lines in rehearsals once a week in the month leading up to the show’s gala night. All of the littles dance in the various songs and some have actual roles with lines.

“There’s never a dull moment with them,” Sturgeon said. “They are sweet kids and they bring a great energy to the stage. Littles always keep us on our toes.”

While some might deem the musical childish because it is based on  SpongeBob, Mitchell thinks people just need an open mind and open heart when watching.

“Don’t think it is stupid just because it is SpongeBob,” Mitchell said. “It has good songs and it’s a good play. It will be an enjoyable experience whether you come to laugh at it, or to sing along. It’s all good stuff.”