Review - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee: It Gets Better

I'm usually not one to sit in judgment of my journalistic colleagues but when one of them is up on stage performing, what's a theatre critic to do? Fortunately, I can honestly report that Matt Windman, known for his snappy reviews in amNew York and on Theatremania.com, did a fine job in the small role of "Matt Windman," on opening night of Paper Mill's funny and heart-tugging production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. (Actually, the role would have been a little larger if he knew how to spell "palestra" correctly.)

The smart and quirky show by William Finn (score) and Rachel Sheinkin (book), mounted with many clever touches by director Marc Bruni and choreographer Wendy Seyb, is an eccentricity among Broadway musicals, taking place in a middle school gymnasium (designed by Anna Louizos with the kind of realism that will either bring back nostalgic memories or terrifying flashbacks) entirely during a county-wide spelling bee; the winner of which will proceed to the state finals and hopefully the nationals.

And while the original Broadway production had a healthy run of over 1,000 performances, the significance of its themes may have grown immensely since the show closed in 2008.

Four of the contestants are audience volunteers, like Matt, who enter a drawing in the lobby and are selected just before curtain time. On the surface their participation may seem like little more than a fun gimmick to add some good-natured laughs, but their presence also serves to balance out the onstage picture of adolescent angst.

Most likely each performance's guest stars will seem comfortable and well-adjusted as they take their turns at the bee, but the scripted contestants, in varying degrees, are all aware of the qualities that make them undesirably different among their peers. With organizations like The Trevor Project and The It Gets Better Project having recently brought the crisis of teen bullying into the public conscious, a new layer of pathos has been added to the musical as it becomes easy to imagine these kids as the ones who, despite their achievements, are picked on, teased or worse during their school years.

There's Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Ephie Aardema), who has two gay dads and tries to be outspoken about her political and social views through a thick lisp. Marcy Park (Olivia Oguma) can't enjoy her exceptional expertise at academic and extra-curricular activities because, being Asian, people label her as an emotionless automaton. Olive Ostrovsky (Ali Stroker), whose parents don't seem to have time for her (there are also hints of financial trouble), comforts herself by memorizing the dictionary.

Overweight and slovenly William Barfee (Will Blum) suffers from a long list of allergies and ailments and uses a shield of arrogance as a defense against embarrassment. Chip Tolentino (Brandon Yanez) is going through an awkward hormonal phase and clings to his position as last year's champion as his defining characteristic. Leaf Conyebear (Lyle Colby Mackston) feels completely inadequate compared with the others because, having placed third in his school's competition, he's only there because the first and second place finishers dropped out.

But what gives Spelling Bee its joy, and there's plenty of it, is watching these kids make decisions to take control of their lives by embracing what makes them different, taking steps to change what makes them unhappy and becoming willing to open themselves up to others.

Serving as an example that it does indeed get better is the bee's moderator, Rona Lisa Peretti (Marla Mindelle), a former winner who may have been just as awkward as the students she now lovingly observes, but has grown into a model of articulate urban chic. Representing the less pleasant reality of life is Vice Principal Douglas Panch (David Volin), who feeds contestants their words in a bored deadpan and unemotionally informs misspellers of their failures. The imposing Mitch Mahoney (Jerold E. Solomon) who is serving community service as the evening's "comfort counselor," - handing a juice box to each losing contestant and quickly leading them to the exit - eventually finds he has a real knack for offering sympathy.

The cast is a terrific collection of performers who each get a shot or two in the spotlight and then blend into an ace ensemble. Finn's consistently amusing score is completely immersed in the characters, especially excelling in the kind of theatre songs that demand staging. "Magic Foot" is a vaudevillian turn where Barfee and company demonstrate his unusual technique of spelling out words on the floor before saying them aloud. "I Speak Six Languages" has Marcy charging through demonstrations of her many skills, including basketball, karate and portrait painting. Sheinkin's Tony-winning book - which is loaded with alternate pages so the actors can adapt to anything that might happen regarding the audience volunteers - keeps an episodic structure with little plot consistently funny while building empathy for each contestant. You won't want to see any of thEm Lose. And fortunately, in the best sense, none of them do.

Photos by Mark Garvin: Top: (front) Ali Stroker and Ephie Aardema (back) Will Blum, Olivia Oguma, Brandon Yanez and Lyle Colby Mackston; Bottom: Will Blum and Company.

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