The SpongeBob Musical on Broadway for 2016-17 season?

The previously rumoured SpongeBob Musical looks like it will indeed make its way to the Great White Way during the 2016-2017 season.

Although no official dates have been set yet for the Broadway engagement, The SpongeBob Musical will stage its pre-Broadway world premiere at Chicago's Oriental Theatre from 7 June 2016 to 3 July 2016.

The SpongeBob Musical is co-conceived and directed by Tina Landau, and features a book by Kyle Jarrow and music supervision by Tom Kitt.

Director Tina Landau released the following statement:

"I was drawn to this project not only for its wild theatrical possibility, but also because I felt SpongeBob, at its core, is a layered and hilarious ensemble comedy. SpongeBob himself is of course its center and beating heart - the eternal innocent in a sea of cynics. He's also the classic underdog hero, and so our production sets him on a hero's journey with real stakes, all the while retaining the show's trippy humor and irreverence. We're taking our leads from the TV show but this is an original story, with an original design approach, and original songs written just for the occasion by an amazing array of songwriters. We will present the world of Bikini Bottom and its characters in a whole new way that can only be achieved in the live medium of the theatre. We're bringing the show's fabled characters to life through actors — not prosthetics or costumes that hide them — and we're deploying some unconventional stage craft that will prove that anything can happen in Bikini Bottom."

The score will feature original songs by the likes of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Jonathan Coulton, Dirty Projectors, The Flaming Lips, John Legend, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T's, They Might Be Giants and T.I., with an additional song by David Bowie and additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton.

Synopsis: "The SpongeBob Musical is a rousing tale of a simple sea sponge who faces the unfathomable. It's a celebration of unbridled hope, unexpected heroes, and pure theatrical invention."

The creative team features scenic and costume design by David Zinn, lighting design by Kevin Adams, projection design by Peter Nigrini and sound design by Walter Trarbach.

No casting has been announced yet.

The SpongeBob Musical is produced by Nickelodeon.

"SpongeBob SquarePants," which debuted in 1999, is an American animated television series created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Set in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom, the series follows the adventures of the title character and his friends. A film adaptation was released in 2004, with a sequel released in America on 6 Feb 2015.