The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Music and Lyrics by William Finn, Book by Rachel Shinkin, Conceived by Rebecca Feldman
Additional Material by Jay Reiss
Directed by Justin Been
Choreographed by Michael Hodges
Stray Dog Theatre
August 5, 2022
Kevin Corpuz, Dawn Schmid, Grace Langford, Clayton Humburg, Kevin O’Brien, Sara Rae Womack, Chris Kernan
Photo by John Lamb
Stray Dog Theatre
The spelling bee is one of those childhood rites of passage that many adults can relate to. I know I can. I still remember the word I was disqualified on in my 8th grade bee (“crucible”–I’d spelled it correctly, but I had started over after first missing the “r”). It also works as a seemingly innocuous but potentially high-pressure event that can bring out a lot of emotion and reflection in the participants. I think it’s this reflective quality that makes The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee work so well as a concept. Of course, the great script, catchy songs, and memorable characters also help a great deal. As staged at Stray Dog Theatre, this show comes to life in all its charming, goofy, and insightful glory, as portrayed by a great cast of talented local performers.
The concept is fairly simple, but there are some fun touches that make the show especially fun. For instance, there’s an interactive aspect, in which four audience members who signed up to participate are brought onstage to compete alongside the “official” cast members. The spelling bee is serious business for its participants, from adults staffing the bee to the student spellers, who appear to be upper elementary and middle-school aged. The host is former champion Rona Lisa Peretti (Stephanie Merritt), who seems a little overinvested in the proceedings at times. She’s assisted by “comfort counselor” Mitch Mahoney (Chris Kernan), who is there because he has to be (the reason is explained in the show), but who soon finds himself caring more about the bee and its contestants than he had expected. There’s also Douglas Panch (Jason Meyers), a local elementary school vice principal, who announces the words and doesn’t always deal with unpredictable situations well. The spellers are a collection of students with their own quirks, foibles, and stories–last year’s champion, the high-achieving Chip Tolentino (Kevin Corpuz); socially awkward and serious speller William Barfée (Kevin O’Brien), who has an unusual way of remembering his spellings; sweet-natured homeschooler Leaf Coneybar (Clayton Humburg), who is insecure about spelling because his family doesn’t think he’s up to the challenge; young activist Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Dawn Schmid), who faces family pressures of her own; academically gifted Marcy Park (Sara Rae Womack), who feels pressure from all around to be the best at everything; and Olive Ostrovsky (Grace Langford), who loves language and words, reads the dictionary for fun, and wishes her busy parents could be there to watch her in the bee. The format follows the spelling bee with a few “breaks” for the various characters to tell their stories. Obviously, since this is a competition, someone has to win, and the order of elimination provides a degree of suspense, as rivalries play out, friendships are formed, and words are spelled, defined, and used in a series of hilariously silly sentences.
This is a sweet show, overall, with a little bit of raunchy, but mostly PG-13, humor thrown in, and the characters are well defined. Though the spellers do have their individual quirks, they don’t come across as caricatures. There are also some memorable songs the characters each tell their stories as the bee plays out. These are characters you get to know, and care about. The script is intelligent, witty, and insightful, and the performers bring the characters to life with a lot of energy and heart. Everyone is excellent, with wonderful ensemble chemistry, but if I have to pick standouts I’d have to say Langford is especially strong as the dictionary-loving, sweetly earnest Olive, and Humburg also has a charming turn as the offbeat Leaf. Kernan is also memorable as Mitch, with a strong voice and believable character arc, and O’Brien has a fun moment leading a production number about his “Magic Foot” spelling technique. Everyone is excellent, though, in voice, in comic timing, and in ensemble chemistry. There are no weak links here, and as some might want to say about the spelling bee, everyone is a winner–truly.
On the technical side, the production is also strong, with excellent use of lighting by Tyler Duenow to emphasize specific moments in the show, and a simple but effective set by director Justin Been. Eileen Engel’s costumes are also memorable, fitting the characters and their individual personalities especially well. There’s also a great band led by music director Leah Schultz, and effective sound design by Jacob Baxley, although there were a few moments where the volume seemed uneven and jarring, although in some cases that seemed to be intended for story purposes.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a musical I had heard a lot about, but had never seen until this production. I’m glad this production has been my introduction to this show, since everything–from staging, to singing, to casting, to look and atmosphere–seems ideal. There are even some fun topical references thrown in for additional humor. Overall, this is a sweet, funny, quirky, thoughtful show that is sure to provoke a lot of reflection, and maybe even some nostalgia, from the audience.
Dawn Schmid, Chris Kernan, Kevin Corpuz, Kevin O’Brien, Clayton Humburg, Grace Langford, Stephanie Merritt, Sara Rae Womack
Photo by John Lamb
Stray Dog Theatre
Stray Dog Theatre is presenting The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Tower Grove Abbey until August 20, 2022
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