BWW Reviews: Monomoy's SPELLING BEE Spells Success!

What would happen if one were to switch the first few letters of "amazing" to form a new, exciting word that only certain minds could quickly figure out? Actually, who cares! As long as each of you knows the word's definition and what it implies, there can only be synonyms of the word used to describe Monomoy Theatre's current production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Having never before seen a production of this rather well-known comedy of a musical, letting Monomoy give me a very impressive and lasting first impression was a wonderful was an absolute privilege; I didn't expect anything less from the group, as the amount of talent on stage makes every play and musical performed wonderful, to say the least. Spelling Bee is really something quite special, as such a simple idea for a plot is taken and transformed, through music and rather peculiar characters, into something that will keep audiences laughing for an evening; it is a production that will not have anyone spelling "regret."

With a book by Rachel Sheinkin, music and lyrics by William Finn, and directed by the wonderful Annmarie Kelly Davis, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a rather bittersweet comedy, if such an idea can be conceived. It tells the story of an academic bunch that gathers to participate in a prestigious spelling bee that will qualify whomever wins for Nationals; the thing is, each person involved is somehow scarred, down to the rather crazed Vice-Principal. Each student there has a wildly different story to tell, but all have found the comfort of a spelling bee to bring out the best (and worst) in each of them as they congregate to spell their hearts out. Some are not meant to be there, and others will do anything to uphold his or her status as "the best," but either way, these boys and girls have a reputation that cannot be tarnished, and to witness each character start out a particular way and then end the show as almost a completely different person due to a moment of extreme self-discovery, is something really beautiful.

Although the musical is hilarious, I had mentioned that it is also bittersweet. Looking at the characters on stage and how they are presented (an early kudos to Costume Designer Amanda Cleveland-Davey, who really turned these students into a sight), an audience would come to the most likely conclusion that these people are the nerds of the universe, thus gathering here to compete in an annual spelling bee. From the looks of theme and their horrid taste in fashion, one would simply take that conclusion and run with it: these students are not very complex characters, aside from the fact that their young minds are bursting with knowledge and know-how. Yet, what this musical does is introduce these youngsters in such a way, but then proceeds to delve deeper into their lives and reveal a life now one would have imagined existed. For example, one character discovers that she enjoys being second best, and is tired of not even striving, but always just being better than the rest; another is upset by a certain something that was not meant to come about during the bee...more on that later. There are some moments when there are even feelings involved - feelings that are not competitive in nature, but of affection amongst students put together to do nothing but plot against each other and think of their demise.

The conglomerate of random emotions involved in this show makes it a wonderful adventure on which to embark, and that is why I consider it bittersweet. Although the musical is hilarious, and the way in which it was directed makes this show work beautifully, it will most certainly bring a tear to your eye towards the very end, as what is not only revealed about but also learned by each character via some heavy-duty soul searching is really one of the most charming occurrences that could ever happen on stage. So, this is not just a story about a selected bunch and their involvement in a spelling bee; it is also about how the spelling of words leads to something a bit more significant than the trophy Ms. Peretti pulls from behind her back.

Now, many of the actors involved in this production have been seen in many of the shows already performed this year upon Monomoy's stage, and it is because of them that the shows are perpetually awesome; watching how each actor and the designated role differs from show to show is really something beautiful. There is Colleen Welsh, who plays the role of Rona Lisa Peretti, a former Spelling Bee champion herself and current moderator of the 25th Annual County Spelling Bee. She is one of the more obscure characters in the show, and evidently one of the more normal ones who has shown up to perform her very important duty of making sure everything is conducted smoothly and as planned. Welsh is a wonderful actress, regardless of the role she plays, but in this production, her joviality and beautiful voice are the two things I picked up on most about her character. Yes, she is faced with a few oddities during this competition, but the fact that she remains so engrossed in the wonder she manages to find within each bee she hosts is so interesting to watch.

Curtis Longfellow (Vice Principal Douglas Panch) is awesome as an authority figure who is a little less in control of himself than he thinks...and he wishes to be in control of others as well! Longfellow is hilarious, and it is very much evident that he is about to crack sometime during this competition; he turns a simple character into someone quite fascinating, so kudos to him! Bryce Wood, as he proved during Lend Me A Tenor, is always pretty, pretty cool. In this show, he plays Mitch Mahoney, a man on parole who is serving his community service hours giving his time to the 25th Annual County Spelling Bee...and not particularly loving every minute. One never knows if Wood is about to yell at someone or give that person a sarcastic remark, and he is very entertaining an actor to watch - this is especially so when he sings a little ditty about what good he wishes for the students who try their hardest to win.

Ella Mora as Olive Ostrovsky (it's a fruit!) is amazing. Not only is her story about her absent parents touching, but the smile that she maintains regardless of her circumstances is infectious...and somewhat creepy at times, depending on what kind of lighting is being used. She really is bursting with energy, and her character shines because of how she is one of the students who just wants to be happy and has not come with the certainty that she will ultimately win. Juwan A. Crawley as William Morris Barfee (pronounced Bar-FAY) is freakin' hilarious. I'm not quite sure where gets this all from, but he really plays his part with such "ummph" and attitude...I simply loved it. Sari Koppel as Logainne SchwartzandGrubenniere is wonderful (as she was in the last show!). Her character is a mix of niceness, conflict and competition, as she acknowledges her two fathers and their desire for her to win, but also wishes to be a leader in her own right; she really takes leadership to a new level, and watching how complex Logainne's character and how Koppel approaches it is wonderful.

Justine Rosales as Marcy Park takes her character to new heights in this production. She discovers that she does not want to always come out on top, and for those of you who have read my other reviews, any sort of character transformation witnessed on stage is really something that amazes me to no end. She plays her beyond-intelligent character so well, and then gradually builds up to the fact that she wishes to change; this I find amazing, and she does a wonderful job at playing both sides of her being.

Mac Westcott as Leaf Coneybear...what can you say about him? He's just that character everyone loves to love, and his lesson, I believe, is the most sentimental and heartfelt of them all. Westcott is able to just zone out and come back with both the right spelling of a word and the revelation that he is intelligent, and to watch him on stage became some of my favorite moments of the show. Finally, there is Stephen Mir as Chip Tolentino: the previous year's winner. I'm very glad that Mir has been in almost every show I've seen so far at Monomoy this year, as he is just charming and a wonderful actor. I can only wonder how he rehearsed singing what he does at the start of Act Two with a straight face.

Of course Musical Director Phil Rittner and the Monomoy orchestra must be mentioned, as they sounded great from where I was sitting!

In closing, Monomoy Theatre's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was amazing, awesome, superb and just plain wonderful. Although there is only a single performance left, please try to get your tickets to see this wild success of a show. Tonight's show is at 8:00 at Monomoy Theater, located at 776 Main Street in Chatham, MA. Tickets may be purchased in person, by calling (508). 945.1589 or by visiting http://www.monomoytheatre.org/. The group's next show is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, followed by Biloxi Blues.

And yes...I did use spellcheck on this one.

Enjoy the show!

Photo Credit: Dawniella Sinder