Stage Fright!

Book

Gallery

Stage Fright! is the third book in the SpongeBob SquarePants Mysteries series. It was written by David Lewman and illustrated by Francesco Francavilla.

Characters

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Sandy Cheeks
• Theatre crew
  • Martin Dorado ^{(single appearance)}
  • Sharpie ^{(single appearance)}
  • Emma ^{(single appearance)}
  • Squidward Tentacles
  • Head cleaner ^{(single appearance}
  • Jack ^{(single appearance)}
  • Chuck ^{(single appearance)}
  • Beluga Bankhead ^{(single appearance)}
  • Stagehands ^{(single appearance)}
  • Remora ^{(single appearance)}
• Actors
  • Pearl Krabs
  • Patrick Star
  • Angela Angelfish ^{(single appearance)}
  • Greg ^{(single appearance)}
  • Rudy ^{(single appearance)}
  • Dirk ^{(single appearance)}
  • Brooding fish ^{(single appearance)}
  • Belinda ^{(single appearance)}
• Eugene H. Krabs
• Grandma SquarePants ^{(in a flashback)}
• Gary the Snail
• Mermaid Man
• Barnacle Boy
• Larry the Lobster
• Incidental 24 ^{(named "Tibor")}
• Flying Dutchman ^(mentioned)
• Giant clam ^(mentioned)
• Bubble Bass
• Mama Bass
• Wonder Whale ^(mentioned)
• Officer Tarpon ^{(single appearance)}
• Incidental 118D ^{(named "Officer Nancy O'Malley)}
• Mr. Mailman (Inc 154) ^{(named "Norton")}
• Old Man Walker ^(pictured)
• Old Man Jenkins
• Old Man Jenkins' grandnephew ^{(single appearance; mentioned)}
• Bob Preflumster
• Perch Perkins
• Madame Hagfish
• Eel (The Curse of the Hex) ^(mentioned)
• Chester ^{(single appearance)}
• Martin Dorado's sister ^{(single appearance; mentioned)}
• King Neptune
• King Neptune's mother ^(mentioned)

Synopsis

Website description

For the next book in this middle-grade series, SpongeBob is back with a new partner and a new case that will take them through the mysterious corners of Bikini Bottom's theater world The Bikini Bottom Community Theater is on its last legs. Luckily, an eccentric director comes to town to stage a new play, sure to grab everyone's attention--even King Neptune's! If the show is a success, the theater is bound to be saved. But when a series of disastrous mishaps occur, the stage is set . . . for a mystery! Enter Detective SpongeBob SquarePants and his new partner, Sandy Cheeks. In order to crack this case, they'll have to step out of the spotlight and into the shadows to discover just who is responsible for all this drama. Can they solve the case before the theater is closed for good?

Book description

The Drippy Lane Theatre in Bikini Bottom is about to call it a wrap on performances for good when an eccentric director arrives on scene. The director's new play is so exciting, it catches even King Neptune's attention! If the show is success, the theatre can stay in business. But when an anonymous meddler starts sabotaging the production, members of the crew begin quitting left and right. After all, someone is intent on preventing the show from ever reaching the stage. Is it a disgruntled actor? A theatre ghost? Or something even more sinister? One thing is certain: Drippy Lane Theatre needs a detective on the case, and who better than SpongeBob SquarePants and his new partner, Sandy Cheeks? In order to solve this mystery, they'll have to harness their best acting chops and discover who is behind the cursed production. Can they stop the culprit before the show goes up in flames?

Join author DAVID LEWMAN and illustrator FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA on another thrilling chapter in SpongeBob's detective adventures!

Plot

The book opens in the Drippy Lane theatre, a run-down theatre where stern director Martin Dorado is in the midst of directing his latest show, harshly critiquing the actors' acting as his beleagured assistant Emma writes everything down. Choreographer Sharpie leads the actors through the upcoming dance-fight sequence when Dorado commands that the actors dance with their weapons, only for the supposedly fake prop sword to cut through an actor's belt, with Sharpie discovering it to be an actual sword. One of the actors accidentally blasts a hole through the wall with a supposedly prop cannon, and they realize that someone has sabotaged the show by swapping all the props with actual weapons.

The story then shifts to SpongeBob monologuing to the reader, with him discussing his reputation as a detective and how he investigates all sorts of mysteries before telling the tale of his latest case. At the Krusty Krab, Mr. Krabs is shocked to discover that SpongeBob is both cooking and taking orders due to Squidward being absent, angrily asking where he is. Squidward then arrives, completely exhausted; it turns out that he was helping with Dorado's show all night, being the orchestra conductor due to the production being a musical.

SpongeBob is ecstatic at the news, having done classes at the theatre when he was younger, and only gets more excited when rumours of King Neptune attending the opening night surface, with Squidward explaining that King Neptune liking the show means that Bikini Bottom will be able to get a new theatre. However, Squidward admits that things keep going wrong with the show, with all the ruckus causing people to quit, and Pearl soon arrives; she got casted in the show, but is worried that all the mishaps will get it cancelled. Not wanting his daughter's time to shine ruined, Mr. Krabs orders SpongeBob to investigate while also getting the concession contract for the show.

Accepting the case, SpongeBob asks Squidward to be his detective partner again, only for him to deny it due to being too busy with Dorado's show. After work, SpongeBob stops by his house to get his detective outfit before visiting Patrick and asking him for his help again, only to discover that Patrick is also in the show and is too busy rehearsing to help. With no more partners, SpongeBob goes for a walk to figure out what to do, soon ending up at Goo Lagoon where he sees Sandy exercising at Mussel Beach. Remembering how strong and smart she is, he asks her to become his detective partner, an offer she gladly accepts.

The next day, the pair arrive at the Drippy Lane Theatre under the guise of auditioning, due to not wanting Dorado to find out they're detectives. Sandy's audition has her sing about the Wild West while SpongeBob sings about bubbles, but the bubbles he blows end up popping in Dorado's face. Desperate for more actors, Dorado begrudingly allows the two to try their hand at dancing, only for them to trip over themselves and cause such a mess that he tells them to leave. However, a stage light suddenly crashes into the stage, and SpongeBob and Sandy clean up the mess so well that he hires them as head cleaner and head electrician after the previous ones quit.

A scream is then heard from the theatre's costume department, and SpongeBob and Sandy discover that the costumes have been ruined. They ask the costumer, Beluga, if there would be anyone willing to sabotage the show, and she mentions that Dorado harshly rejected a script submitted by Bubble Bass, who is then heard yelling in the theatre. Investigating, the detectives see Bubble Bass accusing Dorado of plagurizing his script, though Dorado denies this and tries to get Bubble Bass thrown out. Bubble Bass leaves on his own accord, but swears that they haven't heard the last of him, causing SpongeBob and Sandy to follow him to see where he goes.

The two follow Bubble Bass to his home, where they ring the doorbell and are greeted by his mother, who is suspicious but quickly lets them inside after they claim to be his friends. She attempts to get Bubble Bass to come out of her basement and fails, with her commenting that her son has been moping in her basement for days after Dorado rejected his script and only came out for the first time just then to confront the director. The detectives realize that Bubble Bass has an alibi and soon leave, although SpongeBob isn't fully convinced.

Back at the Drippy Lane Theatre, Dorado is attempting to find a great ending to his show and has the cast rehearse a "Fair Maiden and the Monster" musical number as a finale, starring an angelfish named Angela as the maiden. However, the robotic monster used for the number malfunctions and starts tossing Angela around, with SpongeBob catching her as she falls. It's revealed that someone messed witht the robot's controls, and Sandy soon finds a note taped to a small door near the robot's storage that reads "CANCEL THE SHOW OR ELSE."

The detectives decide to ask Angela about any potential enemies, only for her to have none, though she admits her boyfriend James isn't happy with her part in the show. Before leaving her, Sandy quickly asks Angela to write down a few show-related things, and it turns out she wants to collect handwriting examples from the cast to compare with the note they found; using Squidward to distract Dorado, the pair collect the examples and quickly go back to Bubble Bass' house to get some of his writing before travelling to the Bikini Bottom Police Department to show their findings to the department's graphologist, though no matches are found.

Returning to the theatre, SpongeBob and Sandy arrive in time to see Dorado angrily read a letter that Emma soon hides. Retrieving the latter, they discover it to be about Old Man Jenkins wanting Dorado to move the production to his farm's outdoor amphitheatre; believing the letter to be a thinly-veiled threat, the pair go to the farm and search for him, only to suddenly be chased by a monster through some crops. Quickly losing it at the amphitheatre, they soon come across Old Man Jenkins and ask him about the letter, and he reveals that he hates the noisiness of Downtown Bikini Bottom so much he hasn't been there in twenty years, and was simply offering Dorado to move the play to a less chaotic place.

The next morning at the Krusty Krab, Mr. Krabs showcases the hawking trays that SpongeBob and Squidward will use at the show only to discover that SpongeBob hasn't gotten the contract, demanding him to get the contract just as a news report by Perch Perkins reveals that the rumors of King Neptune being at the show's opening night are true. Later at the theatre, SpongeBob asks Dorado for the contract, only for the director to become so livid at the idea that Sandy interrupts and quickly drags SpongeBob away to help her look over the theatre's lighting grid, where one of the grid's pipes gets detached and swings through the stage with SpongeBob on it; it turns out someone loosened the pipe's clamp as more sabotage.

Shrugging off the incident, Dorado proceeds with a musical number about sea hags when the evil sea hag collapses, having an allergic reaction to the makeup. After helping the actress, SpongeBob and Sandy check out the Makeup Department and discover that someone swapped the special non-allergenic makeup for regular makeup; the makeup artist theorises that it must have been swapped overnight, and mentions that the sea hag number received a complaint from Madame Hagfish, who swore she would put a hex on the show unless it was removed. SpongeBob and Sandy visit Madame Hagfish and question her, but she reveals that she has been in her wagon for the last two weeks nursing her pet sea cockroach back to health.

With another potential suspect removed, the detectives recall how the sabotages have been happening at night and decide to stay overnight at the theatre. Slinking back into the theatre before it closes, SpongeBob and Sandy discover that Emma is actually Dorado's niece, and watch her set up a ghost light before leaving. After some waiting, the ghost light is suddenly unplugged, and the pair attempt to chase the figure through the darkened theatre; while SpongeBob ends up in the low attic, Sandy realizes that there are two saboteurs, with one being as big as the monster on Old Man Jenkins' farm. However, despite their best efforts, the saboteurs get away, so the detectives call it a night.

The next day, SpongeBob and Sandy return to the theatre to check for any sabotage, when Dorado confronts them about all their questioning and tells them to get out, but they buy some time by lying about retrieving their equipment and quickly hide away in a storeroom. SpongeBob reveals he wants to sneak into the attic to see the sabouteurs left any hairs behind, so they sneak into it using the door near the robot monster's storage and find some blonde hair when Emma finds them. Since she has blonde hair, SpongeBob questions if Dorado's mistreatment of her caused her to sabotage the play only for her to state that he acts harsh to her to prevent accustions of favoritism.

As the detectives comfort her, Sandy realises that the blonde hair is from a wig, with Emma commenting that the hair must be from Angela's wig. Remembering that Angela was attacked by the puppet and her boyfriend's displeasure at her being in the play, SpongeBob and Sandy have Emma distract Dorado and soon question Angela, only for her to run away and enter a hatch in the orchestra pit. Following her, they enter a cavern underneath the theatre where they encounter the monster from before, with Sandy quickly attacking it in self-defense.

However, Angela shows herself and pleads for them to stop; it turns out that the monster is her boyfriend James and that the pair have been sabotaging the play due to its negative views on monsters, even trying to scare SpongeBob and Sandy away when they started to investigate. Despite the mystery being solved, SpongeBob realizes that Angela can't be arrested or else she can't perform in the show and save the theatre, and he soon comes up with the idea for the "Fair Maiden and the Monster" number to be changed so that the Maiden and Monster end up together. He and Angela present the idea to Dorado, who loves it and immediately begins making changes.

Opening night soon arrives, and the show is a raging success: Pearl, Squidward and Patrick get their time to shine, Angela and James' performance of "Fair Maiden and the Monster" is heartwarming, Mr. Krabs sells lots of Krabby Patties and King Neptune is so impressed that he announces that Bikini Bottom will be getting a brand-new theatre. Before he leaves, King Neptune does admit that while the show was amazing, he wished it was a bit sillier, recalling a bubble-related song his mother used to sing to him. Immediately recognizing the song, SpongeBob starts singing the song he used to audition with, and King Neptune joins him for a duet that everyone backstage applauds.

The story then shifts to another of SpongeBob's monologues, talking about how great of a team he and Sandy were before discussing the events that occured after the show; Angela paid for all the damage she caused and that she and James were sentenced to hundreds of hours of community service, and that Squidward conducted every performance of the show but had to keep working at the Krusty Krab due to horrible pay from the theatre. The book ends with SpongeBob mentioning that he has packed his detective outfit away until it would be needed again whenever a new mystery pops up.

Trivia

General

File:Mermaid Pants 157.png

The frame from "Mermaid Pants" that the book uses.

• This is the first and only SpongeBob SquarePants Mysteries book to not begin with a monologue from SpongeBob, instead starting with a short scene with the Drippy Lane Theatre.
• The illustration of the Krusty Krab seen in the book is ripped directly from "Mermaid Pants," specifically after Mr. Krabs converts it to the Krusty Lair.
• It's revealed that Sandy is currently attempting to create a cure for Shellfish Fever.
• Sandy is revealed to have slight stage fright, being noticably unnerved while trying to audition for Dorado's show.
• It's revealed that Bubble Bass is an aspiring playwright and artist, though he isn't good at either.
• Mama Bass is shown to affectionately call Bubble Bass by his first name, marking the only instance where Bubble Bass is simply referred to as "Bubble."
• According to Bubble Bass, there has only been one recorded case of a Wonder Whale figurine being produced with black boots instead of the usual white boots due to a factory defect.
• It's revealed that Old Man Jenkins prefers his Krabby Patties extra-soft with no onions or pickles due to them giving him gas, and that he hates the chaotic noisiness of Downtown Bikini Bottom so much that he has refused to set foot in it for the last twenty years.
• It's revealed that Madame Hagfish hates the misrepresentation of sea hags as hideous hex-casting monsters that she sees in entertainment, though she admits that her own hex-casting actions doesn't help the stereotype. She is also revealed to have a pet sea cockroach named Chester.

Cultural references

• Beluga Bankhead's name is a reference to American stage actress Tallulah Bankhead.
• Several musical numbers from Martin Dorado's show reference other musicals.
  • The musical number about a human girl longing for fins and a tail so she can see what life is like in the ocean references the 1989 animated musical The Little Mermaid and its protagonist Princess Ariel, a mermaid with an interest in the human world.
  • The "Fair Maiden and the Monster" musical number references the 1991 animated musical Beauty and the Beast, which is more explicably referenced at the end when it is performed by Angela (the beautiful fish who represents Belle, or the Beauty) and James (the monster who represents the Beast).
  • The musical number about a baby King Neptune being held up by an assistant standing on a rock references the 1994 animated musical The Lion King, with the number even having a song similar to "Circle of Life."
  • The musical number where all the actors are dressed as snails references the long-running musical Cats.
  • The musical number featuring a pair of sea hags, one good and one bad, references the 2003 musical Wicked, specifically the ending song "For Good."

Episode references

• One of SpongeBob's monologues has him mention wrestling giant clams, something he attempted to do in "Tea at the Treedome."
• SpongeBob's reminiscing of his theatre days has him put extra emphasis on the word "imagination," and later creates a rainbow whilst talking about imagination to Sandy, referencing "Idiot Box."
• While discussing their auditions for Dorado's show, SpongeBob and Sandy mention the events of "Texas" by discussing how the latter performed "I Wanna Go Home."
• SpongeBob's monologue after Bubble Bass' introduction mentions his order of a Double Triple Bossy Deluxe from "Pickles."
• SpongeBob recalls his encounter with Madame Hagfish and the hex she put on the Krusty Krab from "The Curse of the Hex."
• SpongeBob wears a rainbow-colored clown wig like he did in "No Weenies Allowed."