Twenty years after its Broadway premiere, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee amiably graces the north stage of the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, courtesy of an energetic Music Theater Works cast that elevates the slight material with well-observed character studies and enjoyable audience interaction.
The set-up: A county spelling bee full of teenage contestants out to grab nerdly glory by qualifying to compete in the national bee sees more than its share of melodramatic twists and turns as each fairly cliched character works through their specific angst (absentee parents, perfectionist parents, raging hormones, inferiority complexes, superiority complexes and the like) via witty dialogue and a series of amusing songs supported by a six-piece live orchestra. Throw in a handful of audience members conscripted to take part in the early rounds of the bee to winningly humorous effect and you’ve pretty much got it.
In short, it’s a fun, low-impact way to spend an hour and forty intermissionless minutes watching some nice comedic turns by six adult actors playing overwrought teens on a set that nails the vibe of a dingy high school gym (kudos to scenic designer Ben Lipinski). The students are variously prompted, judged, mocked and comforted by a tightly wound vice principal (Zach Kunde–think Steve Carell with a mustache), a former champion who is now queen bee of the bee (Neala Barron, who alternates nicely between feeling competitive and sympathetic to this new generation) and a young man handing out juice boxes and hugs to losers as part of his prison work-release program (Michael Davis Arnold, who starts out somewhat tentatively before adding a warm dimension to the proceedings).
The actors playing the contestants all handle their roles well, mining specific details and leaning away from broad cliches where they can. Brandon Acosta, Mai Hartwich and Jamie Dillon Grossman draw laughs by turning their neurotic, overachieving characters up to 11. But the three other teen competitors–William Barfée (played by Will Koski as an antisocial know-it-all longing to connect), Leaf Coneybear (an overlooked kid in a high-achieving hippie household essayed with awkward charm by Joe Lewis) and Olive Ostrosky (portrayed with appropriate uncertainty by Rachel Guth as the girl who had to take the bus because her dad didn’t care enough to come or even give her the entry fee)–are the most memorable because they are close to fully developed characters.
The show, ably directed and choreographed by Christopher Pazdernik with an assist on both fronts from Keely Vasquez, has the fun, loose feel of a night out at the Second City, ComedySportz or Blue Man Group, which tracks, as it originated as a scripted-through-improv production before getting the Broadway treatment. Candy is thrown. Audience members are embarrassed. Fun is had. And there’s plenty of time to go out for drinks after the show.
The Music Theater Works production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee runs through March 31 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts.
For a full roundup of reviews of this show, visit Theatre in Chicago.
Photo by Brett Beiner
