I recommended this last year, but since Nickelodeon is debuting their live staging of it tonight (December 7) at 7 PM EST, The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide will once again recommend the Original Cast Recording of The SpongeBob Squarepants Musical. Much of the original cast will appear on tonight’s broadcast, so you’ll be able to bask in the glory of the music on the CD.

This CD came out in 2017, but I didn’t get to see the show until near the end of its Broadway run last year, so I am recommending this for any fan of the SpongeBob Squarepants cartoon, any fan of Broadway musicals, and any fan of just plain great music that happens to be a lot of fun.

SpongeBob Squarepants The Musical may well be the quintessential Broadway Musical experience. It has the perfect combination of music, cast, direction, art direction and story to make it stand head and shoulders above any of the classics of the stage. The only musical close to this in terms of over all quality is The Book of Mormon, and unlike that show, SpongeBob Squarepants is family-friendly.

Taking the familiar characters from the Nickledeon cartoon, and placing them in a compelling story about the potential end of the world works surprisingly well on stage, largely due to the efforts of the cast and the creative team.

The show is a spectacle in every sense of the word. The set design is brilliant, both figuratively and literally, and the costume design manages to perfectly capture the characters of the cartoon series without resorting to using mascot uniforms. However, on the album you can really focus on how amazing the music is.

The music is incredible and hangs together very well, despite being written, for the most part, by rock musicians with no prior stage experience. In addition to They Might Be Giants, composers include David Bowie and Brian Eno, Jonathan Coulton, Cyndi Lauper, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Yolanda Adams, Sara Bareilles, John Legend and members of Lady Antebellum, The Flaming Lips, Panic at the Disco, and The Plain White Ts.

SpongeBob Squarepants The Musical is a great way that you can experience this fantastic show. You ought to be able to find or order from any place that sells CDs, or you can order it from Amazon.

Check out a preview of what you’ll see tonight with this performance from the Kid’s Choice Awards…