You would have thought that Broadway was closing down for good. Or that someone had besmirched the name of Audra McDonald. Or perhaps that Donald Trump was going to be the next Billy Flynn in Chicago. That's how aggrieved, indignant, and dismissive the reaction was in many quarters to the announcement that the popular children's TV show SpongeBob Squarepantswould soon become a Broadway musical. The Twit-O-Sphere wasted no time in making its collective umbrage painfully clear.


 Here's a sampling of what I saw on social media: 

• "Why, God? Why?" 
• "Two words: Hell. No." 
• "What's next? Barney on Broadway? Yeesh." 
• "First Cirque du Soleil, and now SpongeBob? Broadway R.I.P." 
• "I think humanity and civilization as we know it are doomed." 

No, please. Tell us what you really think. 

It would appear that some people have appointed themselves final arbiter of what should be a musical and what shouldn't. As I continually say to my students, there's no such thing as a bad idea, only poor execution. (See "5 Myths About Musicals.") I try to keep my mind as open as possible with respect to the ultimate success of a particular musical project. A musical about a barber who slits people's throats and his accomplice who bakes them into meat pies? A musical about a lesbian cartoonist who grows up in a funeral home and whose father commits suicide? A musical about a carnivorous plant who plots to dominate the world? All ridiculous concepts, all fantastic musicals. 

Some say that this represents yet another example of Broadway playing it safe, selecting previously tested properties with a built-in audience.

Well, guess what, folks? Broadway has never been particularly original. Sure, there have been watershed shows that set new standards, but these are a minute minority. The vast majority of Broadway musicals have been adaptations of previously tested works. Of the top 20 musicals that I list on my "100 Best Musicals of All Time," sixteen of them are adaptations. 

Because, here's the thing. Show business is a business. Yes, it's great to break new ground, and many people have set out specifically to do so with the shows that they write. But at the end of the day, Broadway theater needs money to survive. People decry the increasing commercialization of Broadway. Well, News Flash: Broadway has always been commercial. How could it be anything but? Groundbreaking shows do make it to Broadway, but they take a very different route from the more overtly commercial properties. The best of the best usually make it to the Main Stem, although they don't always last. 

But, back to SpongeBob. Here's the thing: It could be awesome. I love SpongeBob. For years, I have unapologetically watched the TV show, which is smart, funny, and unerringly entertaining. The movies are a hoot, too. In fact, I just bought the second SpongeBob movie on Blu-ray and watched it over the weekend. And I laughed like crazy. So, on the whole, I would much rather see SpongeBob Squarepants become a musical than, say, The Suite Life of Zach and Cody or Hannah Montana. 

What's more, have you seen the people who are involved? Apparently, the show will feature original songs from Aerosmith, John Legend, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, and David Bowie. David Frickin' Bowie, people. Plus, the musical was co-conceived and will be directed by Tina Landau, the Yale- and Harvard-educated playwright and director, whose work at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater has earned her many accolades and national renown, and who among many other things wrote the book to Floyd Collins, widely considered a modern classic. The SpongeBob book will be by Kyle Jarrow, who co-created A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant, so there's bound to be a very smart, snarky sensibility to the show, as thoroughly befits the SpongeBob oeuvre. 

OK, so none of this is a guarantee that the show will be any good. Other shows with similar or better credentials have crashed and burned. But, at least for me, there's enough here to make me curious at the very least, and perhaps even a little bit giddy. And, hey, if you're not into it, I believe attendance is optional.