![]() ![]() This is a very silly show with some great music and a joyfully chaotic attitude. ![]() I would say The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is most suitable for 13 and up. One word (!) of caution: With the puberty bit, this show probably not a great bet for little kids. In this production, there’s even room for audience members to sit on stage. I’m always impressed with how the theatre manages to get the most out of such a small space. Syzygy indeed.ĭid I mention the cameo by Jesus? The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has a cameo by Jesus.īlackfriars stalwart Danny Hoskins directs with a playful eye. Ewing, all capes and bike helmets, is fearless in Heelys (on risers, even!) as he belts out ‘I’m Not That Smart.’ Welch will break your heart as she sings about a fantasy world where her parents love and support her. The energetic Phelps embodies ambivalence as a girl trapped by her own achievements. Hunt brings a delightful Nathan Lane-energy to ‘Magic Foot,’ Devlin is all spunk and indignation as she destroys the competition and dismantles the patriarchy and Christie gets some of the biggest laughs of the night as he seemingly hits puberty at just the perfect wrong time. The kids are played by members of the Blackfriars Theatre Summer Intensive Program (BTSI) and they’re all great. The losers are left with nothing but tears and a juice box handed them by the hilariously brooding Greenan. The winner (NO SPOILERS HERE) gets glory. Contestants are felled by nerves, hubris, untimely erections and the unfairness of the bee and/or life in general. Words like capybara, qaymaqam and syzygy fill the air and seemingly written-on-the-spot quips are fired at the audience volunteers (my favorite was when McBride complained that a guy’s outfit of shorts and a zip-up sweatshirt gave no indication of the weather outside). The kids are joined by three brave volunteers from the audience and the bee gets underway. The spellers file in: Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre ( Savannah Devlin), a left-wing firebrand being raised by two ultra-competitive dads last year’s champ Chip ( Alexander Christie), locked in a losing battle with raging hormones lonely Olive ( Bridget Welch), desperately hoping her absentee father can make the bee goofball Leaf Coneybear ( Alec Ewing), only there because both the first and second place winners of his regional bee couldn’t make it Marcy Park ( Chloe Phelps), a too-perfect Catholic school girl who speaks six languages and blowhard William Barfée ( Garrison Hunt), an over-confident nerd with a magical spelling foot. She’s partnered with nervous vice-principal Douglas Panch ( Joseph Buck, practically vibrating with comic insecurity), there to pronounce challenge words and add useless guidance and Mitch Mahoney (Joseph Greenan), a recent parolee serving his court-mandated community service as the single least comforting comfort counselor in the history of comfort counselors. Moderator Rona Lisa Peretti a fast-on-her-feet Melanie McBride) is a very-together one-time bee winner gleefully looking forward to the carnage ahead. ![]() The stage is set in a gymnasium hung with mainly 2 nd -place sports banners for the Putnam Valley Middle School Beavers (foreshadowing?). Isn't that what middle school is all about? This is where legends are made and dreams are crushed. It’s the most lugubrious (look it up) day of the year for somewhere-in-America Putnam County, as six quirky students vie for the coveted title of spelling bee champ and the out-sized trophy that goes with it. Witness the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in Blackfriars’ production of the very funny musical treat: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. ![]()
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