The landscape of major musical theater is undergoing a massive shuffle right now. Beloved productions are finding new life beyond the Great White Way, moving straight into our living rooms while simultaneously shaking up some of Europe’s biggest entertainment venues. Kicking things off on the broadcast side, the original Broadway cast and director of the acclaimed SpongeBob SquarePants musical are getting the band back together. Nickelodeon just announced plans to bring The SpongeBob Musical: Live On Stage! to television this December, capturing the energy of the theater for a massive at-home audience.

A Bikini Bottom Reunion

Filmed entirely in front of a live theater crowd, the television event brings back Broadway’s Ethan Slater to reprise his Tony-nominated title role. He’s joined by Gavin Lee, who is stepping back into the shoes of the tap-dancing Squidward Q. Tentacles. Tina Landau, who earned her own Tony nod for directing the original production, is returning to the helm. She mentioned how thrilled she is to revisit the show and discover its new life as a television broadcast, adding that she is deeply grateful for the chance to share the pure joy of the production with a much wider audience.

The broadcast actually ties right into the 20th anniversary of the SpongeBob franchise. Nickelodeon’s Executive VP of Live Action Unscripted and Live Events, Rob Bagshaw, noted that adapting this wildly imaginative Broadway run for TV is the perfect way to celebrate the milestone. Fans will finally get to see real-life actors tackle these iconic characters in a totally fresh way, swapping out bulky mascot suits for clever, slightly more realistic stage attire.

The Sounds of Bikini Bottom

The reunion brings back several heavy hitters from the original staging. You can expect to see Danny Skinner as Patrick Star, Brian Ray Norris as Mr. Krabs, Wesley Taylor as Plankton, and Christina Sajous playing Sandy Cheeks, all backed by a massive ensemble cast. The initial Broadway run, which took over the Palace Theatre from late 2017 to the fall of 2018, was a critical darling that managed to pull in an impressive 12 Tony nominations. Set designer David Zinn even took home a win for his eye-popping, flamboyant creations.

Part of the show’s enduring appeal—which is currently fueling a North American tour—is its incredibly eclectic original score. The musical features tracks written by an army of industry legends, including David Bowie, John Legend, Cyndi Lauper, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, The Flaming Lips, and Panic! At The Disco. Jonathan Coulton provided additional lyrics, with Tom Kitt stepping in for additional music.

Musical Chairs in Germany

While SpongeBob gears up for its prime-time debut, international stages are seeing their own massive shake-ups. Over in Germany, the curtain is finally coming down on Moulin Rouge at the Musical Dome in Cologne. The iconic red windmill will stop turning on July 18 after a blockbuster three-year run that drew in over 1.5 million fans. Satine, Christian, and the entire velvet-draped set are packing up and heading out to Hamburg’s Theater am Großmarkt, a venue currently occupied by Harry Potter and the Cursed Child until late July.

Whispers of the Phantom

So what happens to the massive, empty venue left behind in Cologne? ATG Entertainment, the team behind Moulin Rouge, promised that the city wouldn’t be left hanging. They teased a major production to fill the void, with an official title announcement expected this spring. The rumor mill, however, is already working overtime. Right now, all signs point to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera making a grand entrance.

Theater sleuths essentially crowned Phantom as the frontrunner after doing a little online digging. A few premature job postings by ATG temporarily listed Cologne as the location for a Phantom production. Another listing for a Musical Director popped up, covering a contract from September of this year through February 2028. While it didn’t specifically name a city, the timeline perfectly matches the expected lifespan of the Cologne Musical Dome before it’s slated for demolition. The ad explicitly mentioned Cameron Mackintosh’s production of the Webber classic. Adding fuel to the fire, Phantom is currently haunting the Raimund Theater in Vienna, but that run wraps up this summer, which would free up the production just in time for a move to Germany.

A Record-Breaking Legacy

It makes perfect sense to bring in a heavyweight of this caliber. Based on Gaston Leroux’s early 1900s novel, The Phantom of the Opera is an absolute juggernaut. Ever since Webber supposedly stumbled across the original book in a second-hand shop and launched the show in London’s West End back in 1986, it has shattered industry records. It holds the title for the longest-running show in Broadway history and the second-longest in the West End. With over 160 million people globally having experienced classics like “The Music of the Night” and “All I Ask of You,” Cologne might just be on the verge of welcoming a legendary successor to its bohemian cabaret.