The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Set at a school spelling bee, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee uses selected audience participants to fill out the number of spellers, so I had the rare experience of appearing on stage in a show I was reviewing.

This is a show with which I am very familiar, having directed it a few years ago, and I found that the hardest part of being on stage was not joining in the singing (I wouldn't have wanted to risk their harmonies, which were superb). Despite my inside knowledge of the words, I was eliminated first - misspelling philodendron and was promptly dispatched with a hug from comfort counselor Mitch Mahoney (Ryan Taafe) and a juice box.

Leading the bee were realtor and former spelling champion Rona Lisa Peretti, beautifully played by Rachel Monamy and uptight Deputy Principal Douglas Panch - a superb performance by Paul Treasure, both of whom handled the improvisation inherent in these roles with aplomb.

The six misfit spellers were nicely contrasted. Standouts included Kimberley Diane Harris as gentle Olive and Daniel Burton as alpha-male over-achiever Chip Tolentino. Erin Craddock did some excellent hula hooping as intense multi-talented Marcy Park while Jesse Angus found his own way to play Leaf Coneybear. Rounding out the cast were Johnathon Best as William Barfee and Natalie Burbage as Logainne Schwartzandgrubinierre. I enjoyed Logainne's tirade about the discrimination against homosexuals in the Boy Scouts of America - very topical and appropriate.

The cast all seemed confident working with the recruited audience members and improvised audibly (and in whispered asides for the benefit of those onstage) very well.

Vocal direction by Kate McIntosh was excellent, with lovely ensemble singing and the onstage band were tight and well-balanced. To me, the choreography felt a little too safe and the considerable talents of choreographer Hilary Readings underused.

There were lovely aspects of attention to detail in the costuming by Carole Barnes and Jessica Dean, including Olive's sparkly sneakers and Logainne's protest badges. Lighting (Jessica Dean again) was well managed and sound by Alex Coutts-Smith was top-notch.

Although some of the jokes fell flat at the matinee performance I attended, this was a solid production that deserved bigger audiences.

Kimberley Shaw

Images: (top) l- r, Kimberley Harris, Daniel Burton, Erin Craddock, Johnathon Best, Natalie Burbage and Jesse Angus & (lower) l - r, Johnathon Best, Natalie Burbage, Kimberley Harris, Daniel Burton, Erin Craddock and Jesse Angus. Deprimo Photography.