What sets “Spelling Bee” apart from most musicals is its unique blend of traditional musical fare and audience interaction.

“Life is pandemonium!” belts the cast of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” on opening night at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. “Spelling Bee” stopped in Milwaukee Nov. 6-11, before heading off to Providence, Rhode Island. The new musical comedy is Tony-Award winning, and has received critical acclaim from the likes of the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.

What sets “Spelling Bee” apart from most musicals is its unique blend of traditional musical fare and audience interaction. Before the show, four audience members were chosen to be part of the bee.

At Marcus, a booth was set up in the lobby where theatergoers could sign up by answering a series of survey questions about their age, occupation and of course, spelling capabilities.

Fifteen minutes before curtain time, four entrants were selected. These four were called up on stage during the beginning of the show and were seated amongst the cast on a set of bleachers.

As the name implies, the show was set at the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee where six contestants, plus the chosen four, were competing for the chance to go to the National Bee in Washington, DC.

The set was refreshingly minimal, with a set of bleachers and a table with two chairs against a gymnasium background. A banner was hung that proclaimed “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” The bleachers were on wheels, and were turned into a merry-go-round at certain points during the show.

The spellers were Marcy Park (Katie Boren), Chip Tolentino (Justin Keyes), Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Dana Steingold), Leaf Coneybear (Andrew Keenan-Bolger), Wiliam Barfee (Eric Roediger), and Olive Ostrovsky (Vanessa Ray).

The “adults” in the cast include hostess Rona Lisa Peretti (Roberta Duchak), word reader Vice Principal Douglas Panch (James Kall), and parolee Mitch Mahoney (Kevin Smith Kirkwood), who comforts eliminated spellers as part of his community service.

Despite its straightforward appearance, this musical is about much more than just a spelling bee. Each speller has his or her own adolescence woes. Olive’s father is increasingly late to the bee, while her mother is taking a leave of absence in India. Logainne deals with the difficulty of having two overbearing fathers who hate losers.

While characters are in the hot seat, we are often taken out of the confines of the bee, and into the respective worlds of each child. For example, as Leaf confesses his fears of inadequacy, the spellers turn into his less-than-supportive family members. The cast plays its multitude of roles with ease.

It should also be mentioned that the show featured a slew of improvisation, as the cast tried to make the show local (with references to Brett Favre, Brady Street and Russ Feingold), and interact with the new “cast” members. “Zach lets his little sister cut his hair,” chided Peretti as one audience contestant took to the microphone.

The bee features amusing words, such as acuchi (a small South American rodent) and tittup (to move with exaggerated or jerky movements). Whether or not they would be part of a real spelling bee is irrelevant, because they add delightful situational comedy.

For example, Chip misspells “tittup” when he is hormonally distracted by Leaf’s sister Marigold. Later, as the first eliminated speller, he is forced to sell concessions to the audience as he professes how his erection made him lose the spelling bee.

While the show seems kid-friendly on the surface, it’s more appropriate for teens and up. There were some young children sitting directly in front of me, and some of the jokes (like the finale to Chip’s song, where he popped two bags of popcorn into the audience) seemed to go right over their little heads.

It’s easy to see how this musical has gotten such rave reviews. It’s smart and hilarious. It’s about the pressures of growing up and competition, something everyone can relate to. It’s also got a great message: Just because you lose, it doesn’t mean you’re a loser.

> Comments