Friday, March 29, 2024

Inside Broadway with Lilli Cooper of ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’

Lilli Cooper as Sandy Cheeks with Ethan Slater as SpongeBob SquarePants in “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Photo Credit: Joan Marcus, 2017)

*Lilli Cooper is making waves on Broadway as Sandy Cheeks in “SpongeBob SquarePants” at the Palace Theatre. With a book by Kyle Jarrow, musical production conceived and directed by Tina Landau, choreography by Christopher Gattelli, and music supervision, orchestration, and arrangements by Tom Kitt, Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” led this year’s awards season with 11 Drama Desk, and 11 Outer Critics Circle awards nominations, including Best Musical.

The 28-year-old performing artist is enjoying this season on Broadway. “What’s so exciting [about working on “SpongeBob’’] is the ability to think outside of the box, and to have dreams beyond your wildest imagination,” continued Cooper, who made her Broadway debut at 15 years old in “Spring Awakening,” and later played in “Wicked,” as Elphaba. “I feel blessed to be in this place in my career.”

Lilli Cooper as Sandy Cheeks in Broadway’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Photo Credit: Joan Marcus, 2017)

Cooper talks with Gwendolyn Quinn about her booming career and the inspiration, influence, and impact her father and family have made on her career.

Inside Broadway: How did you land the role as Sandy Cheeks in “SpongeBob SquarePants”?

Lilli Cooper: I auditioned for Sandy in SpongeBob in the fall of 2015. I heard about it when I was working with Kyle Jarrow, who wrote the book for “The Wildness” at the Ars Nova. I also knew the actor playing SpongeBob [Ethan Slater], so I had known about the project and was always a fan of the television show. I was thrilled when I auditioned; it was one of those projects that I was determined to book, and I worked my butt off on it. I booked the job that winter, then did an out-of-town tryout in Chicago [summer 2016].

The Company of “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Photo Credit: Joan Marcus, 2017)

IB: Give our audience an overview of the Broadway version of “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

LC: SpongeBob is a kitchen sponge that lives underwater, in a town called Bikini Bottom. The story that takes place in our musical is an apocalyptic tale where a volcano is about to erupt, and I play Sandy Cheeks, who is a Texan squirrel and a scientist. She comes down to Bikini Bottom to study their habitat. As this impending volcano is going to erupt, she attempts to use her knowledge of science to prevent it from exploding.

The drama of the story is how the community of Bikini Bottom deals with this impending doom. Some people are so scared that they want to flee the town, and some people need to find people to blame. Sandy ends up being the focus of that blame. Some people choose to follow the government, and some people choose to listen to the media. It’s a relevant, and prominent story.

IB: Tell me about your character, Sandy Cheeks.

LC: Sandy Cheeks is a brilliant scientist. She is a smart, sassy, athletic, karate-chopping squirrel, and I like to think of her as a feminist icon. She’s strong and opinionated, and she figures out how to save Bikini Bottom while trying to convince the entire community to listen to her. Even though she is an outsider—she’s alienated from the rest of the community—she puts that aside and still decides to help. Her intelligence and knowledge of science is what save their lives. Sandy can overcome this adversity because she’s not a water dweller, she’s a land mammal. She represents the immigrant to this town, but she’s incredibly valuable and has to prove her value in this journey of this story.

“SpongeBob SquarePants” with (l-r) Danny Skinner as Patrick Star, Ethan Slater as SpongeBob SquarePants and Lilli Cooper as Sandy Cheeks (Photo Credit: Joan Marcus, 2017)

IB: How does the story of “SpongeBob SquarePants” personally impact you?

LC: Sandy is a powerful woman amongst a bunch of opinionated men, and she’s mansplained and needs to prove herself. I feel like that is a struggle that strong women face every day in this society. As women, we have to continue to prove ourselves as valuable, intelligent, and worthy; it’s something that we have to overcome almost every day.

IB: Tell us about the music in the show. How many songs do you lead in the show?

LC: I’m prominently featured on four songs. It’s an ensemble-heavy musical, so the ensemble is in almost every song, and I sing amongst the ensemble. The music is unique; a different artist writes each song. We have genres ranging from country to pop to rock.

IB: What is your favorite song in the show?

LC: My favorite song is “Super Sea Star Savior,” and it is a gospel song. I don’t sing on it, but I get to listen to it every night.

IB: How does it feel to be a leading lady on Broadway?

LC: It’s wonderful; I’m the only female principal in the show and our cast is diverse in size, age, and race. I happen to be the only female, and the only person of color, representing the principals in the show. So I feel special; I’m representing a special group of people. I have little brown boys and girls that come to the stage door every day to say how much of an inspiration I am. It feels powerful and surreal, and that’s one of the most important things that I can provide.

Lilli Cooper gets ready for her stage performance of “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Photo Credit: Jenny Anderson)

IB: Tell me your pre-performance regimen before you go on stage.

LC: I get to the theater about an hour and a half before the show. I put on my makeup and do my pin curls; while I do that, I do vocal warm-ups. I am physically active in the show, and I do stretches. We have a warmup space outside of my dressing room, and it’s also a great time to get together with the cast and have fun, and joke around, and catch each other up with our days before the show.

It is important to me to connect with my fellow actors before the show starts. The actors that are on stage, behind the curtain, all come together, and we put our hands in together, and we have a moment to devote our show to one specific thing. It’s one of my most important rituals.

IB: When did you fall in love with the craft of acting and musical theater?

LC: I was raised in the theater. My dad is an actor, and both of my brothers are artists [Alex and Eddie Cooper]. It was something that I was immersed in from childhood. The theater and arts have been a part of me since I was a child. I was raised going to Broadway shows all the time.

Lilli Cooper (l) in “Spring Awakening” (Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)

IB: When did you know you wanted a career in musical theater?

LC: I was shy as a kid, and I started out dancing when I was about five years old, and I didn’t start singing and acting until I was in high school [Fiorella H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City], and I had a whirlwind experience. I was thrown into the professional world of performing when I was in high school.

I knew I wanted to be a performer when I was in a production of “Hair” at LaGuardia. An agent came to see me, and sent me out on an audition for a workshop of “Spring Awakening.” I booked my first Broadway show when I was 15 years old.

Lilli Cooper and Chuck Cooper (Photo Credit: Walter McBride — Courtesy of Lilli Cooper)

IB: How is your dad? What is he working on now?

LC: My dad is great. He is starring in a production of “Choir Boy,” which will be on Broadway later this year at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Recently he appeared in the “Prince of Broadway” at that same theater.

IB: What influence did your father have on your career?

LC: He was a big influence. I would go backstage all the time with him, and I met his colleagues and fellow actors, and I loved watching him on stage. I loved watching my brothers on stage, too. I would see my grandfather [Charles Edward Cooper, who sang with the Robert Shaw Chorale] in my father. Our family goes back several generations of artists. My grandfather was a huge influence; it was something that I was surrounded by, it’s in my blood, and I couldn’t have escaped it if I wanted to.

IB: Please share specific details on how your father helped with your career.

LC: When I started working, I got my agent through my high school, and I auditioned on my own. But what I think my father helps me most with, is the day-to-day survival of living and working in this challenging world. I call and text him, and I ask him questions about people I may be working with. My dad is a good point of reference when I go into an audition, and if the director knows my father, it’s a wonderful conversation starter. I like to say I started my career by myself, but I would not be where I am without both of my parents, and I use my dad as a valuable resource on a daily basis.

The Cooper Family (l-r) with Alex Cooper, Lilli Cooper, mother Tisa Farley, and Eddie Cooper (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lilli Cooper)

IB: Tell us about your mom.

LC: My mom [Tisa Farley] was an actress in college. When she had kids, she decided to stop performing, and she now works at a public elementary school, which is where my middle brother [Alex] and I went to elementary school. She’s a parent-teacher coordinator and runs the after-school program.

IB: What is the most profound lesson you have learned from your parents?

LC: The most important thing I learned from both of them is to understand my value as an artist, and to know that I can state my opinion, and know that it’s worth something, and not give in. It’s easy to give in to what this world can ask of you, and be taken advantage of. They have both instilled in me the idea of being a strong, independent woman that can make my own choices, and that I can say no to things, and saying no is a valuable asset.

The Cooper Family (l-r) Alex Cooper, Lilli Cooper, Chuck Cooper, and Eddie Cooper (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lilli Cooper)

IB: How are your brothers Alex and Eddie doing?

LC: Alex is four years older than me. He is an incredible visual artist and illustrator. Alex taught himself to play guitar. He also models and works in commercials. Eddie is my oldest brother; he’s eight years older than me, and he will start rehearsal for a new musical, “This Ain’t No Disco” at the Atlantic Theater Company. It’s a great production that Stephen Trask wrote; he also wrote the book for “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” it’s an incredible team of people.

IB: Are there plans for the family to produce a show together?

LC: Eddie, and my dad and I are doing a concert in Pittsburgh next year. We call ourselves the Cooper Clan, and we’ve done a few concerts, and we love it. It’s something that we hope to continue.

GQ: What keeps you spiritually centered and grounded?

LC: The most important thing that keeps me spiritually connected is gratitude, and remembering my ancestors. And that’s another thing that my father has instilled in me, and to remember that I would not be here if my ancestors hadn’t fought for me. I’m grateful for that, and I couldn’t live my life if it weren’t for them.

IB: As a millennial, what do you think are some of the challenges, or issues, facing your generation?

LC: Some of the challenges we face are the polarizing ideas that the world has. Sometimes it feels like we are on two planes of understanding. I wish that people who are right wing or left wing, or conservative or liberal, could understand and hear each other and converse and communicate. It’s challenging to listen to one another these days.

If there’s something millennials can learn, is that we need to listen to each other, no matter how different our ideas of the world might be. I hope that being able to understand each other, on a human level, is what will get us through these challenging times.

Dublin (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lilli Cooper)

IB: What do you like to do in your spare time?

LC: I have a cocker spaniel [Dublin]. I live with my boyfriend [Paul] and my dog, and they are two of the things that make me happiest in the world. We live next to Morningside Park [in Manhattan], and we take Dublin on long walks, and we go on adventures with him. Dublin is a water dog and loves to swim. We rescued him from the Humane Society, and he was in a cage for four years. But the idea that we get to give him love, it brings me so much joy. I would say I focus most of my spare time on Dublin.

Lilli Cooper with boyfriend Paul (Photo Credit: Jane Jourdan — Photo Courtesy of Lilli Cooper)

IB: Tell me about your boyfriend, Paul.

LC: Paul is a personal trainer. That’s another thing that we connect on is, we love to work out and do fun exercises together, and anything that we can incorporate our dog in is a great experience for us.

IB: What are some of your pop culture must-haves?

LC: I’m old school. I don’t go a week without listening to Stevie Wonder or the Jackson 5. And that’s what pumps me up for my show every day. I love old school R&B and jazz.

I’m a big TV addict. My guilty pleasure is reality shows, and I do watch the “Real Housewives” [franchise]. I’m guilty of it. For me, it’s fun to watch extreme and extravagant people that are wild and crazy; it makes me feel saner.

IB: What is your dream project?

LC: I would like to write and produce a project with incredible actors that I know and love. I started writing sketches for a web series. I’m also interested in writing for television. I’ve been collaborating with some friends and comedians.

IB: What’s next for you?

I started writing songs with a couple of friends. I hope to record and release new music sometime next year. My musical style is eclectic; it’s a mix of pop and R&B.

I’m proud of the original cast recordings of “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Spring Awakening.”

Gwendolyn Quinn is an award-winning media strategist and consultant with a career spanning more than 25 years. She covers entertainment, travel, and lifestyle news. Quinn is a voting member of the Drama Desk. She is a contributor to NBCNews.com/NBCBLK.com, BlackEnterprise.com, HuffPost, and Medium.com, among others.

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