Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Ensemble member Tina Landau is bringing her talents home this summer for a new endeavor.
Although Landau was born in New York City, she has spent a great deal of time in the Windy City, cultivating a career in theater. Not only working with The Goodman Theater in Chicago in the past, she has traveled to San Diego's Old Globe Theater and The Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia for productions there. She has taken shows like Tracy Letts' Superior Donuts to big success on Broadway in the past and now hopes for another.
Landau is now co-conceiving and directing the new show The SpongeBob Musical, in which SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom could face total annihilation of their undersea world.
The production features songs by Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, and Sara Bareilles among others.
Broadway in Chicago expects big things from the musical and Windy City sat down with Landau to talk about it.
BWindy City Times: Hi, Tina. So you are originally a New Yorker who moved to California?
Tina Landau: Yes. You have done your research! I moved to California briefly with my folks then back to school on the East Coast. I have been there ever since except for a short stint where I lived here in Chicago for a very brief time.
WCT: You are in Chicago often?
TL: All the time. It is why I am thrilled to be starting the show here because it feels comfortable here for me. It feels like my second home. I have a sense of Chicago audiences that I feel are really open but at the same time are discerning and sophisticated enough to give you real feedback as the work is happening.
WCT: You have had a long history with the Steppenwolf.
TL: Yes—since 1997, I think.
WCT: You did Superior Donuts after that?
TL: It started at Steppenwolf.
WCT: How is it crossing over regions of the country with productions?
TL: It is the best. I am coming off of a show that started at Steppenwolf called Head of Passes by Tarell Alvin McCraney that we just did at the Public Theater. That is based on the Book of Job so it is a very heavy fraught production. That was interesting because it was seemingly the polar opposite of this. It is what keeps me alive, going, and challenged so I love it.
WCT: So who is the other co-conceiver on The SpongeBob Musical?
TL: Technically there isn't one. It is Stephen Hillenburg who created the series. When people say created by then it would seem like I created all of these characters. The project was conceived by me based on Nickelodeon's invitation to conceive something. I worked on it a year or two before we brought in a book writer Kyle Jarrow, who is technically the writer of the book and of course we have our composers who are the other writers.
WCT: Did it surprise you that big-name musicians wanted to jump onboard SpongeBob?
TL: This was a dream. It was my very first idea on how to approach it. First I thought, "Nickelodeon will never go for it" then I thought, "These artists will never go for it." It has gone more easily and successfully than I could ever have dreamt because unbeknownst to me most of these artists are SpongeBob fans, whether is them or their kids or SpongeBob on a clothing line or who knows what. Almost everyone jumped onboard because they loved SpongeBob.
Of course, the more someone said yes then the other ones started saying yes, too.
WCT: Before David Bowie passed, he did also?
TL: David's song is a little different than all the others in that he really wanted to be involved but wasn't able to write a new song for the show. He allowed access to his catalogue where I could see if there was some song that existed that I could adapt for the show. That is what we have done and it is called "No Control."
WCT: Is it a goal to have a soundtrack with all of the big names on it?
TL: I am not sure. That would be my dream but I don't know yet if that is a realistic goal.
WCT: Was it a temptation to put a big name in the cast for SpongeBob?
TL: No. In fact, we wanted to stay away from that. We felt that the star of the show should be the show. It released us from developing certain roles to be certain things. We wanted a fresher, unexpected energy.
WCT: Do you feel pressure for SpongeBob to be a big success?
TL: I feel pressure, but not from a commercial or corporate standpoint—the pressure is my own. It comes out of the desire to share joy and to communicate and to put out into the world an energy that I think is living in this.
So the only pressure is my own and I would say more desire and intention than it is pressure.
WCT: Is there LGBT content in the show?
TL: That is a really interesting question. First off, in terms of topicality and political sensibility, there are things in there but nothing is overt or manifest. We have really tried to create a world that exists as a fable, which allows people to read in and interpret a lot of different things on a lot of different levels.
I would say what is in the show is any and everything that people choose to interpret in any and every way.
I will add as a little teaser that there is some gender-blind casting.
WCT: How did it feel to be one of OUT Magazine's 100?
TL: It feels like a while ago—back in 2009—but it was an honor.
WCT: Have you always been out as a lesbian publicly?
TL: Yes. I came out to my parents when I was in college. I have been one of those people that was fortunate to have never struggled with it. I always knew and it felt organic. I have always been completely open.
WCT: Were you able to put some of that into your work throughout your career?
TL: Yes, I think so. I did a piece called Stonewall that I wrote and directed for the 25th anniversary of Stonewall. I did something in New York on a site specific piece with 60 actors in it. I wrote and directed Dream True, which was a gay love story.
I feel like I don't have an agenda to push but I want my work to reflect who I am but exists in the world.
I work a lot with playwrights Chuck Mee and Tarell Alvin McCraney, both of whom give voice to the voiceless. They really create tasks and worlds that are inclusive. I think that is why I have grabbed onto them as primary collaborators.
WCT: What is the plan for SpongeBob after the Chicago run?
TL: The plan is to tech the show here and get ready to show people. We will use the preview time to finesse, learn, and do changes. The next step would be a New York production. We are waiting to find out the specifics on date and location.
WCT: What else do you have in the works?
TL: Head of Passes might have another production. I am developing a new piece with and for Steppenwolf. It is an ensemble created piece and the company has never done an ensemble devised work. I am spearheading a new piece that will involve about 20 ensemble members. That is something I hope to work on a bunch.
I am involved on a musical called Dave, which is based on the movie.
I have a couple of other secret projects that I am very excited about but right now I am focused on SpongeBob. It is going to be a wild ride!
The SpongeBob Musical is already extended until July 10, and is at Broadway's Oriental Theater, 24 W. Randolph St. Visit BroadwayInChicago.com for ticket information.
