The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

I have to admit this was the first time I had come across this show and knowing nothing about it, after the first few minutes my companion and I were wondering what on earth we had come to see - it was so quirky and off the wall! However, after that initial reaction we found ourselves drawn into it wholesale and soon got to grips with the sheer quirkiness of the production and before we realised it were belly laughing throughout.

It is a show with music and lyrics by William Flinn and book by Rachel Sheinkin about a bunch of six American teenagers, all played by adults who are, as the title suggests taking part in a county spelling competition, or Bee, but all the characters have some odd kind of autistic like personality traits, which are played to great comedic effect. Add to that that four volunteer randomly picked members of the audience are also called out to join the spelling bee and you add a whole new twist to this complex musical. This is not a show for actors who can’t sing or singers who can’t act, to pull this off they had to very good at both. And oh boy, they most certainly were!!

The stage, Managed by Steve Ward was a simple affair with a large ‘25th anniversary’ banner on the back wall, in front of which was a two tier rostra where the nervous competitors sat, a table for the judges stage left, a cupboard containing various props, such as basketballs, stage right, with the band positioned stage right and cordoned off to the rear.  Very simple and very effective. Lighting and sound, by Harry Biltney, both of which were faultless completed the stage setup. With a fairly static lighting plot the man doing the work during the scenes was Sedrick Khan on follow spot.

Backstage, Tara Hutchings, Adrienne Thomason and Peter Darnell had put together the excellent collection of inventive costumes to suit each of these slightly bizarre characters, especially for Leaf Coneybear, who got one of the biggest laughs of the evening when the compeare said ‘And Coneybear makes his own clothes,’ which is exactly what it looked like!

The music for this was very complex with what felt like timing changes almost every few bars in some songs, but pretty much played faultlessly by the band under the direction of Leigh Smith (also Keys) with Andrew Longland Meech  on (Keys), with Chris Pettitt (Tenor/Alto Sax and Flute), Sue Pettitt (Bass Clarinet), and Jake Hatter on (Drums).

Add to that some very appropriately avant-guarde choreography by Molly McCarthy and the stage was set for a totally off the wall evening!

The cast was excellent to a man and woman, each with strong personalities, which they put over with great skill and comic timing and with some incredibly powerful singing.

Bravely, director Charles Mills, sporting a wonderful curly haired red wig, had chosen to cast himself as William Barfeée, a dour, precocious child, but with all sorts of issues, who tries to correct the compere and judges on the pronunciation of his name every time he is called to the mic. Add to that he has to spell everything using the mystic information from his foot before he answers. Being the excellent actor he is, Charles certainly knew how to get the most comedy out of ‘dour’!’

Olive Ostrovsky played by Rosie Layton was probably the most normal of the teenage entrants, whose best friend is her dictionary, giving us an almost innocent but determined to win character despite having no help from either of her parents, or even the entrance fee for the Bee. Subtly done!

Marcy Park, played by Cheryl Wilson was the straight-laced teenager who took herself far too seriously, remonstrates brilliantly when it is announced she speaks five languages by denying it, when in fact she speaks six! Cleverly played.

Chip Tolentino played by Sam Robinson was totally believable as a larger than life teenage struggling with his sexuality, which eventually causes him to lose the competition. He had me in stitches almost every time he opened his mouth and his posture as the awkward teenager was absolutely spot on. His rendition of ‘My Unfortunate Erection’ was hilarious.

Leaf Coneybear brilliantly played by Theo Diedrick was the zaniest of the lot, with his bizarre clothing, mannerisms and high energy actions, and his facial expression were comic genius. Absolutely brilliant!

Charlotte Prosser as Schwartzy completed the competitors. She has two overbearing gay fathers  Carl and Dan well played by Jamie Walker and Phil Smith, but is still very much her own person in spite of them, especially as she is becoming politically aware. Again, beautifully played!

The compere Rona Lisa Peretti played by Emily Bennett was the glue that held this show together, with an absolutely top notch performance as the overbearing compere and previous winner with that wonderful false smile and some of the great cutting comments.  The various tones in her voice were an absolute pleasure to listen to.

Mark Haines as Vice-Principal Panch, the judge returning after five years following ‘the incident,’ (deliberately never explained) at the twentieth Bee - every time he read out a word definition or its use in a sentence you just got ready to laugh. 

Possibly my favourite character in the show was Midge Mahoney played by Rachel Spavins, the ex-convict ‘comfort counselcillor’ who delivered some of the best comedic lines and although as I said the quality of the singing from all the cast was excellent, her voice has to be one of the most powerful I’ve heard in amateur theatre. Wonderful natural gift, very well executed.

Akelia Moxam-Black and Audrey Fernandes Fewell were the two cheer leaders leading the dance routines and adding their vocal weight to the cast choral numbers.

Finally two lovely singing cameos by Bryony Davies and Mark Burnapp as Olive’s Mum and Dad, who  appear in her imagination sequence with h a super rendition of ‘The I love You Song.’

Personally, once I got its measure, I loved the comedy and the zaniness of it, Charles Mills’ directing was top notch and it was a wonderfully entertaining evening. However, with apologies to William, Finn, I struggled with what to me was a fairly forgettable score, but my companion for the evening, who is a self-taught pianist and has a very musical ear, said afterwards, ‘The music was pretty unmemorable, but the way the actors sang it made it memorable. Leigh Smith's great conducting style translated well to all his musicians, and Leigh himself is no slouch when it comes to the wonderfully lush piano numbers within the show.’ -  I think that summed it up rather well!

Well done Marianettes on this challenging show, and thank you for your hospitality, always a pleasure to visit!! I’ll never see spelling in the same light again!

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