SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical (originally titled The SpongeBob Musical, later retitled as such for the national tour) is a stage musical, co-conceived and directed by Tina Landau with songs by various artists and a book by Kyle Jarrow. It is based on the Nickelodeon animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants and made its world premiere in June 2016 at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago. Following a month of previews, the musical opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre in December 2017. The show was produced by Nickelodeon, The Araca Group, Sony Music Masterworks and Kelp on the Road. The musical opened to critical acclaim. With twelve Tony Award nominations, it tied with Mean Girls for the most-nominated production at the 72nd Tony Awards in 2018. The show closed at the Palace Theatre on September 16, 2018 due to theatre renovations. At the time of its closing, it had played 29 previews and 327 regular performances.