"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at Artistry

Artistry produced the 2005 two-time Tony winning musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee back in 2014, when they were still known as Bloomington Civic Theatre. But this hilarious, irreverent, and surprisingly sweet musical is worth revisiting. Directed by #TCTheater favorite Tyler Michaels King and featuring a fantastic cast, it's so playful and fun, and also gives you the warm fuzzies about this group of loveably oddball kids just trying their best to spell and be happy. There's only one weekend left to attend the Bee - don't miss it!

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at Lyric Arts

Middle school (or junior high as they called it in my town) is the worst. You're not a kid anymore, but not really a teenager yet, and you're just trying to figure out who you are and where you fit in the world while everything is changing at rapid speed. But that's what makes it such deliciously awkward fodder for a musical! A 2005 Tony-winner for best book, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee brilliantly illustrates the humor, trauma, elation, and devastation that comes with a middle school spelling bee. This quirky little musical is a great choice for Lyric Arts, and they've created a sweet and funny production with a solid cast.

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at Bloomington Civic Theatre

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a delightful, hilarious, and at times poignant look at a middle school spelling bee. I've seen the 2005 Tony-winning musical four times now, and I never tire of it. Bloomington Civic Theatre's new production is of course perfectly cast and very well executed, with Anita Ruth's small but still beautiful pit orchestra and Joe Chvala's unique eye for movement and direction. It's different than the large-cast traditional musicals they often do, which I love because it shows the full range of what musical theater is and what BCT can do.

The entire show takes place within a spelling bee competition, with a few flashbacks or fantasies to help explain certain characters. But basically it's a spelling bee, following the spellers from the moment they arrive at the bee, through triumphs and defeats, to the crowning of the winner. Along with the six quirky characters in the play, four audience members* are asked on stage to participate in the bee, adding an element of improvisation. Three adults try to wrangle the kids and keep the bee running smoothly, to varying degrees of success.

Highlights of the show include:

• Real life husband and wife Nicholas Leeman and Colleen Somerville play the adults presiding over the bee. Nicholas plays Vice Principal Panch with the perfect dry wit and occasional exasperation (and he's also the improv master as he deals with whatever the audience members throw him). Colleen's lovely voice is put to good use as former spelling bee champ Rona Lisa Peretti, with maternal fondness for the spellers and nostalgia for the bee. Not surprisingly, they have great chemistry, although Ms. Peretti does not return Mr. Panch's growing affections.
• As the bee's "comfort counselor," opera-trained Dominique Wooten cuts an imposing figure and can really belt (see also Les Miserables), and brings heart and humor to the paroled prisoner trying to help these kids deal with the disappointments of life.
• Six twenty-somethings convincingly play tweens and are all perfectly cast. Like she did in Carrie: The Musical for MMT last fall, Jill Iverson plays a complex and troubled teenager with a difficult relationship with her mother, but Olive is a bit lighter than Carrie and her story has a much less devastating outcome. Ryan London Levin is quite funny as former champ Chip, who's eliminated under unfortunate circumstances. Andrew Newman is adorable as the loopy and sweet Leaf Coneybear who knows he's "Not that Smart" (a role originated by Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson). Marcy Park is the least-developed character among the kids, but Hope Nordquist makes the most of her moment, a very active and busy "I Speak Six Languages." Andy Roemhildt plays all of the quirks of the singularly unique William Barfee to the hilt. Finally, Maisie Twesme is a standout as Schwartzy, with a lisp and a facial tic that never waver and a knack for engaging the audience spellers.
• The songs are mostly fun and light, with clever lyrics and catchy melodies. But occasionally the score is quite lovely and heart-wrenching; the musical highlight is the gorgeous three-part harmony in a fantasy sequence with Olive and her distant parents, with the three strong voices of Jill, Colleen, and Dominique blending beautifully together.
• This is an unusually small orchestra for BCT, but that's what the piece calls for, and as per usual it's spot-on. Joe Chvala's choreography captures the awkward movement of pre-teens, not quite in control of their bodies.
• I like to go to BCT on days when they have a post-show talk-back and listen to the cast and creative team talk about the experience. My favorite moment was when the cast was asked why they do this if they're not paid (much), and Ryan responded, "theater is crack!" As someone who saw over 150 shows last year, I heartily agree!

As Anita pointed out in the talk-back, this sort of light comedic show is harder than it looks. It takes a lot of work to make the precisely timed comedy look as effortless and natural as this. If you've never experienced the unique delight of Spelling Bee, do yourself a favor and head out to Bloomington between now and February 16 (discount tickets available on Goldstar). And make your plans for next season at BCT which was just announced. It looks like another great one; I'm particularly excited about Next to Normal (which I've seen several times and love) and Carousel (a classic I've never seen but have been wanting to).

*The audience spellers are given obviously easy or difficult words depending on if the script requires them to stay or leave. But they don't always comply, which is part of the fun. The cast told of someone who misspelled an easy word, which caused them to have to rearrange the song order. And there's always that one person who's a great speller and gets even the hardest words right. At the show I attended they finally had to trick him with to/too/two (which reminds me of the 30 Rock joke about the game show Homonym).

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" by Theater Latte Da at the Ordway McKnight Theatre

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, or in the case of Theater Latte Da's new production, The 25th Annual Seven County Metro Area Spelling Bee, is a delightful, hilarious, clever look at a middle school spelling bee and the characters that inhabit it.  (And if you think this show is an exaggeration, check out the marvelous documentary Spellbound - truth is stranger than fiction.)  I had seen the show twice before, once on tour and once on Broadway, so I already knew I loved it.  And as usual, Latte Da's production of it is practically perfect in every way.

One of the things I love about Latte Da is their impeccable casting, which is beautifully on display in this show.  With the exception of Tod Petersen (creator and star of the funny, sweet, and very Minnesotan A Christmas Carole Petersen), this is a cast of Latte Da newcomers.  And many of the actors who play the kids are kids themselves - college students or recent graduates.  Artistic Director Peter Rothstein is intentionally focusing on casting young actors this season (a season which ends with one of my favorite new musicals Spring Awakening).  And I think he may have discovered several stars of the future in this cast.

My favorite of the six Spelling Bee finalists is Leaf Coneybear, with an adorably spirited and loopy performance by Alan Bach.  Poor Leaf isn't your typical smart kid, he sort of ended up there by accident, and is having the time of his life.  Logainne Schwarzandgrubenierre (Mary Fox, one of my Yellow Tree faves, who fully commits to creating a quirky character) is the lisping daughter of two dads, always trying to please them.  Derek Prestly as last year's champion Chip Tolentino gets his (slightly embarrassing) glory moment after Chip is eliminated from the competition.  Marcy Park (Sheena Janson, aka the sultry seductive man-eating plant Audrey II, in a totally opposite role here) is the stereotypical Asian student who's good at everything, but learns it's more fun not to be perfect.  William Barfee (convincingly played by Joseph R. Pyfferoen) has nasal congestion issues and a magic foot, and unexpectedly develops a sweet friendship with a competitor.  As the other half of that relationship, the slightly neglected Olive Ostrovsy, Cat Brindisi proves she has inherited her parents' many talents (her dad is Michael Brindisi, Artistic Director of the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, and her mom is actor Michelle Barber), but has a spark and a spirit all her own.  It's a pleasure to watch these six "kids" light up the stage with their talent.

The "adults" aren't too shabby either.  The hosts of the Bee are Vice Principal Panch (Tod Petersen) and former champion Rona Lisa Peretti (Kim Kivens).  Tod and Kim are both spot-on in their characterizations of the tightly wound VP and the woman who looks back on her Spelling Bee win as the highlight of her life.  Brian Frutiger plays convict-turned-counselor Mitch Mahoney, who hands the losers a juice box and escorts them off stage.  He has a great voice; he's a member of the Metropolitan Opera in NYC "slumming" it in musical theater here in Minnesota.  Whether stage veteran or relative newcomer, this show is perfectly cast.

This show involves some audience participation; three audience members are called up to join the competition, which allows for some hilarious ad libbing by our hosts.  It's great fun to watch the people on stage being led around by the cast, to see their reactions to the show going on around them, as well as the always in-character reactions of the actors playing with them.  I'm not quite sure how it works, but I assume you can put your name in the hat before the show, so look for that in the lobby if you want to take your chances at the Bee.  The 25th Annual Seven County Metro Area Spelling Bee is playing through the end of the month - catch it while you can.  I'm going again at the end of the month, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the show has grown as well as the differences that new audience members onstage bring.




Celebrity Sighting
Yellow Tree Theatre co-founders Jason Peterson and Jessica Lind were in the audience to support their friend and frequent collaborator Mary Fox, who is also responsible for the sound design in Yellow Tree's current show Steel Magnolias.