SpongeBob the Musical
Performed November 2023
PosterDesign by Rivers R. Blue
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A Note from the DirectorWhy in the world would there be a musical about Spongebob?!
Yeah…I asked the exact same question. But when two of my MOST dedicated and talented kiddos woke me up late after a long night on a big yellow bus on our way back from a speech meet last season BEGGING me to give it a chance, I realized what it would mean to them. And let’s face it- the music is BOMB! Panic at the Disco? Young the Giant? Yes please! But also, our community has been through a lot in the last couple of years and our kids deserve a laugh out loud, colorful explosion of silliness onstage that makes everyone feel something we’ve been missing these last few years...an overwhelming sense of JOY! Joy is what we are going for with this one. We want you to wander into the world of Bikini Bottom and get lost for a little while in remembering what it is like to be a kid who feels that pure childlike, almost weight-less joy, even for a moment. We all deserve that. Theatre has this incredible way of taking the silliest stories and deconstructing them, breaking them down to the most important elements that we need to digest. This telescopic form of empathy teaches us to better understand each other and ourselves. On this adventure, SpongeBob may be teaming up with his buddies Patrick and Sandy to take down a Volcano and save Bikini Bottom…but along the way he also crosses paths with quite a few social issues that we also face every day ourselves. If you look closely enough, you might see yourself in these cartoonish characters and even learn a little something about how we could better treat ourselves, each other, and our entire community. So…Welcome to Bikini Bottom! Grab your BFF 😊 Quiet your computer wife! And most importantly, let’s make it the best day ever because YOU deserve it! Benji Braswell |
Production Photos
Arsenic and Old Lace
Performed September 2023
PosterDesigned by Arthur Ream
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A Note from the DirectorArsenic and Old Lace is a classic Halloween movie that means quite a lot to me and brings back so much nostalgia. Some of my favorite memories are watching this movie each Halloween with my family on a windy night while trick or treaters visit the door.
This is a laugh out loud dark comedy about the two sweetest little old ladies you could ever meet who have a “bad habit” of poisoning lonely strangers with their spiked elderberry wine. Seems innocent enough until their nephew, Mortimer, finds their latest victim in the window seat and embarks on an elaborate night-long adventure to keep his aunt’s out of prison. If that isn’t enough, his long lost mobster brother comes back into town with his own dead body to get rid of and with a cellar full of secrets, this house is no longer the peaceful place it once was. It’s funny how in times where we feel the most overwhelmed, or under the most pressure, dark comedy seems to resonate the best. My father is a grief counselor and its often astounding to people how casually our family can discuss death, grief and the topics that surround the other side. However in this play, we see the Brewsters come face to face with death over and over again and meet it each time with a sense of farce that can only be explained through laughter. We could learn a lot from the Brewster sisters, their love of Teddy, their empathy of others and their undying devotion to serve their community albeit even in their own “peculiarities”. Our students have worked so hard on this production and I cannot begin to describe how proud I am of every single one of them. My heart is also so full at the thought of all of the incredible seniors that are in this production that will be graduating this year and performing their final mainstage show with this play. CHAAAAAAARGE! Benji Braswell |
