BWW Q&A: St. Louis Native Michael Schimmele Returns to Stages St. Louis for THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

Stages St. Louis launches its 40th Anniversary Season with THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, running May 29 through June 28 at The Ross Family Theatre at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. The Tony Award-winning musical comedy turns a school spelling bee into something far bigger than a competition, capturing the pressure, awkwardness, joy, and vulnerability of childhood. The production sets the tone for a milestone season that continues with Guys and Dolls and Come From Away. Co-directed by Stages Artistic Director Gayle Seay and longtime Stages board member and artist Ron Gibbs, the production features an all-St. Louis cast, highlighting homegrown talent during the anniversary year.

BroadwayWorld spoke with Michael Schimmele, who stars as Chip Tolentino. Schimmele appeared on Broadway in Aladdin as Babkak, and his regional credits include Oaken in the regional premiere of Frozen, the Piragua Guy in In the Heights at Stages, Roger in Grease at Pioneer Theatre Company, Jimmy in Crazy For You at Asolo Rep, and Angel understudy in RENT at The Muny and Paper Mill Playhouse. He holds a BFA from Elon University. For Schimmele, the production marks a homecoming to both Stages, where he previously performed, and his hometown of St. Louis.

What does it mean to you to be returning to Stages St. Louis for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, especially given that this is both your hometown and a theatre where you've worked before?

I am honored to return to Stages and my hometown of St. Louis! I cherish the opportunity to create art within the community in which I grew up falling in love with theater as a kid! What makes this experience even more special is getting to share this production with the teachers and mentors in St. Louis who quite literally taught me so much of what I know, including how to spell!

How does it feel to be part of Stages' 40th Anniversary Season, and what do you think makes this production a fitting way to kick off such a milestone year?

Stages St. Louis continues to create and produce such excellent theater, it is so exciting to be here for their 40th Anniversary Season. What I love most about this particular production kicking off this milestone year is that all of the artists onstage call St. Louis home in some way or another! It creates a really special effect for the audience, and for the performers onstage, that we are really seeing, cheering on, and falling in love with members of our actual community. You are guaranteed to recognize a friend, coworker, or even teacher onstage! This really brings our "Putnam County" to life for our audiences, and highlights the strength of theater made by and for St. Louis.

Can you tell us about Chip Tolentino and what drew you to this particular character in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee?

Chip Tolentino has been a dream role of mine ever since my first voice teacher gave me the CD! What I love most about playing him is that he is already a winner in his own mind. Chip won the year before and is back again and determined to win Nationals. To him, this Bee is really just a stepping stone. He is ambitious, competitive, and ultimately has a lot of passion for winning this year. He has a lot of heart behind his need to win. But make no mistake, he is here to win again and nothing can distract him. Well, almost..

The show's tagline is "Big Feelings. Bigger Words." — how do you think the production balances the comedy with those deeper emotional moments?

To me, Spelling Bee is a perfect musical precisely because of its ability to balance side splitting comedy as well as incredibly deep emotional moments. The audience falls in love with these spellers and their hilarious quirks throughout the play; but, we watch these children struggle with very relatable adult issues such as living up to others' expectations, failure, and the devastation of losing. We meet these extremely skilled but somewhat awkward contestants who the audience learns to care for so deeply throughout their highs and lows.

This production features an all-St. Louis cast, which feels especially meaningful during the 40th Anniversary Season. What has it been like working alongside fellow St. Louis talent?

It has been an absolute blast getting to work alongside the incredible St. Louis talent. There is such a unique feeling of camaraderie as many of us have worked with each other, seen each others' performances in local productions, and even grown up together! This production really highlights the diverse group of homegrown talent here in St. Louis.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is known for its audience participation element. How does that change the energy of the show from performance to performance, and how do you prepare for the unexpected?

The audience participation element is one of the most exciting and playful parts of getting to do this play! Every night is truly a new and unpredictable event. Guest spellers will get new words, have new interactions with the characters, and create new hilarious moments. This is definitely a show you will want to come back for multiple times with your friends and family to see the live action hilarious improv that is bound to occur. Who knows! You might even win the bee this time!

What do you want audiences to be thinking or feeling as they walk out of The Ross Family Theatre after seeing The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee?

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