Putnam County Spelling Bee review

One word captures the full experience of watching the theatre department's production of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee": M-A-G-N-I-F-I-C-E-N-T. Perhaps you have been among those who have filled The Playhouse night after night to watch the show, and if so you understand. If not, only three chances remain to join your fellow classmates in witnessing this exhilarating display of theatrical talent. Time is running out.

The play, as its title suggests, is the story of six hopeful young students' struggle to win a county spelling bee. Though richly comedic, the production brilliantly brings its characters to life in a way that invests you wholeheartedly in their hopes and ambitions. The audience learns their flaws and fears, witnesses their struggles, and before long yearns for them to triumph. Chip (Preston Grover), the charismatic defending champion, expects everything to come easily—until he is confronted with the trials of adolescence. Olive (Grace Bernardo), whose only real friends are the words she reads in the Dictionary, desperately wants to feel loved. Barfee (Daniel Hoilett), nasally and overconfident, keeps others at a distance until his feelings for another contestant threaten everything he has worked for. Logainne (Caroline Davis), struggling under the weight of her fathers' expectations, tries to break free and win the Bee on her own terms. Marcy (Kate Gard), a perfectionist who relentlessly pushes herself to excel, realizes that her future is hers to decide. Leaf (Stephen Howard), an eccentric and loveable homeschooler, has been told so many times that he is "not that smart" that he has begun to believe it himself. In many ways, they are misfits and social outcasts, six children with nothing in common but this simple spelling bee, yet somehow that is enough. They end the play, as they began it, together, no longer competitors but friends. Ultimately, they find meaning and purpose in the Putnam County Spelling Bee—and in one another. It is, in some ways, a powerful and poignant story of the triumph of the human heart.

Along with these spellers are three adult characters—former spelling bee champion Rona Lisa Perretti (Tierney Breedlove), Vice Principal Panch (Tyler Mitchell), and "comfort counselor" and ex-convict Mitch Mahoney (Ardarius Blakely). These nine actors deliver breath-taking performances, by turns deeply introspective and intensely comical. Their singing and acting bespeak a maturity far beyond their years. They seem to inspire the very best in one another and to bring out the very best in their characters. They each bring a captivating level of energy and intensity to their roles, evident throughout the show but displayed most vividly in the full-company number "Pandemonium."

The actors, however, are only the most visible of the dozens of individuals who made this production possible. The lighting, sound, costumes, and scenery were all spectacular, as was the overall vision of director Maegan Azar. In the play, each character uses a distinct technique to help them spell their words correctly. Expanding upon this idea, Professor Azar imagined the characters as superheroes, each with a "power" that reflects their individual talent and identity. The lighting and costume designers then brilliantly brought this vision to life. Chip's Captain America-inspired polo, Leaf's cape and helmet, and Barfee's heely shoes all reinforce this central concept while simultaneously providing insight into the characters' individual lives.

This production, like all of theatre, is a collaborative process. Each night's performance reflects two months of rehearsal and hundreds of hours of effort, by actors as well as by the director and technical crew. Now, only three performances remain—Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Three chances remain to support your classmates and witness the greatness of what our school can accomplish, and I urge you not to miss your chance. "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is a powerful testament to the talent and passion of our faculty and our fellow students. It is theatre at its best. It is, in a word, magnificent.