Photo credit: Francis Gacad

Written by Patrick Chavis

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is playing now at the Wayward Artist, July 12 – 28, 2024.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has received an exceptional, new staging at the Wayward Artist. For fans of the material, it brings back those lovable, quirky characters with a vengeance. For newcomers to the Tony Award-winning musical, this primped and preened Sydney Raquel-directed piece is a great place to start.

Story:

The play is a comedic musical that runs one hour and forty minutes plus a 10-minute intermission. It follows six young adolescents in middle school and a few lucky participants from the audience who compete in this fictional spelling bee. As the participants compete, we comically learn more about each character, their spelling quirks, and so much more.

Some pieces work better in certain spaces, and the Wayward’s small, more intimate space worked wonders with this show. Of course, you could produce this show in a bigger space, but the strong points of this show reside in the jokes. It’s almost like a stand up special. Instead of one comedian, you have six, and they all have their own songs. Joy and rapture! What a bargain! It’s even staged, like a stand up comedy act, with the mic positioned center left on the Wayward’s stage. Nothing would be gained from a bigger stage with this show besides, of course, more seats and money. “Who would want that?” I say sarcastically.

Set Design:

Scenic designer Teddy Pagee’s set design comprises of a school gym that strives for both authenticity and cartoonish glee. The floors look like real basketball floors, and a basketball hoop is hanging from the middle of the stage. School posters cover the walls. One of the posters read, “Don’t Be a Loser, vote for Luther.” Right off the stage is a simple table with a red tablecloth, a mic, and, of course, the trophy for the winner. The colors used give the standard gym design a slightly more comedic look.

Acting/Choreography:

Any criticisms of the singing would be minor because the singing talent from this cast is so good! I’m shaking a little while I’m typing this. This is, without a doubt, the best-performed musical I’ve seen come out of this theater — no doubt in my mind.

There was such a synergy in this show from almost all aspects of the production: the lighting from newcomer Axiom Cutler flickered with green to communicate this otherworldly knowledge being fed into Leaf (Clayton Michael Walker) as he tried to spell his next word.  Clayton’s jittery mannerisms and how he spelled the words added to the effect.

The engaging choreography Jennifer Kornswiet pulled off in this space barely makes sense, but it’s so good.

Brooke Hallidays’s (Marcy Park) unwavering focus and vocals in pieces like “Pandeminum” and my favorite, “I Speak Six Languages,” cut through the backing track like butter. And the angst out of her character — I think Mr. Burns from The Simpsons would say, “Excellent!”

This show has no real main character. It’s a true ensemble piece, but Jenna Luck’s character, Olive Ostrovsky, is the closest to being the main character. Luck plays shy but energetic when it comes to words and delivers one of the most heart-wrenching tunes of the night — grab tissues for “The I Love You Song.”

Michah Nicholson (William Barfee) brings the laughter as the nerdy, arrogant but surprisingly kind Willam Barfee who has a magical foot for spelling.

Carolyn Lupin’s (Rona Lisa Peretti) fantastic vocal range and delivery were on full display at my showing.

Angel Correa’s undeniable improvisational skills shine in this as the authoritative but troubled Vice Principal Douglas Panch.

Overall:

It is a remarkable showing of vision, time, and preparation from director Sydney Raquel and this mixed cast of young and old OC acting veterans. This might be the surprise musical of the summer in OC or the year. Who knows? How do you spell E X C E P T I ON A L?

Review

9.3 Overall

0 Users (0 votes)

Story9.3

Acting9

Set & Design9.2

Costumes8.8

Entertainment10

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Exceptional Show! OCR Recommended!