Santa Monica College's Theatre Arts Department will stage The SpongeBob Musical: Theatre for Young Audiences Edition for six performances beginning Friday, July 17, and running through Sunday, July 26, at the Theatre Arts Main Stage on the SMC Main Campus, 1900 Pico Blvd.

Perviz Sawoski, chair of SMC's Theatre Arts Department, directs the production. John Sawoski handles music direction. Rehearsals were underway as of Wednesday, July 1, according to a rehearsal photo published by the Culver City Observer.

The show is a trimmed, family-friendly adaptation of the full-length Broadway musical, with a book by Kyle Jarrow based on the animated series created by Stephen Hillenburg. Songs come from artists including David Bowie, Sara Bareilles and Cyndi Lauper. The Theatre for Young Audiences edition premiered at The Coterie Theatre in Kansas City in November 2021, developed in association with Nickelodeon and Concord Theatricals.

Show times

Evening performances begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 17; Saturday, July 18; Friday, July 24; and Saturday, July 25. Sunday matinees start at 1 p.m. on July 19 and July 26.

Tickets and parking

Advance tickets cost $25 to $28, plus a service charge. SMC students and staff pay $18. Tickets bought at the Events Box Office on performance weekends run $3 higher than advance prices. Purchase online at smc.edu/tickets or by phone at 310-434-4165, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Parking on the main campus is free. Directions and transportation details are available at smc.edu/transportation.

About the director

Sawoski, originally from India, teaches acting, stage movement, directing and musical theatre at SMC. She holds a black belt in karate and incorporates martial-arts discipline into her movement-based acting technique. Her 2017 production of Quartet was one of six selected for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival competition in Mesa, Arizona, where all four performances sold out, according to an SMC profile.

"A play is meant to be seen," Sawoski said in a prior interview. "It doesn't exist on paper."

Tickets are available at smc.edu/tickets. The box office phone line, 310-434-4165, is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays.