'Spelling Bee' Originals Still Super Silly

Producer David Stone sought to capture magic in a bottle twice with his Tony Award winning musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, reuniting the entire original cast for the show's Los Angeles premiere, and judging Sunday's opening performance, his plan was a S-U-C-C-E-S-S.

Since it's off-Broadway beginnings, Spelling Bee has been cracking up audiences on Broadway and around the country, recently ending a sit-down production in San Francisco, yet the charm of the original ensemble that created iconic roles of school-aged misfits has not been experienced outside of New York, until now. 

Having seen these same actors when they first opened the show two years ago at the Circle in the Square Theatre, one question persisted throughout the Los Angeles incarnation.  Could the critically praised thesps brush off the cobwebs and make Spelling Bee as fresh an experience after such a lapse in time?  Well, not very surprisingly, yes.

Original director James Lapine also returns to this goofy yet touching musical surrounding a group of six youngsters (played by six wickedly zany "adult" actors) in the midst of a school spelling bee.  After watching the 2002 Oscar nominated documentary "Spellbound," it is not that hard to see there are a vast amount of kids, in actual spelling bees, ripe for satirical picking.  And Rachel Sheinkin's book picks up the hysterical characteristics of such a brood perfectly.

Picking a favorite actor amongst the group proves nearly as difficult as choosing one's favorite child, though Dan Fogler's turn as the know-it-all nose-picking William Barfee, for which he won the Tony award, remains top notch.  Fogler, with his innate and somewhat true to life individualism lends to both wild and crazy moments along with touching instances when Barfee realizes there is more to life than winning.

Yet, when looking for the most poignant aspect of Spelling Bee, Celia Keenan-Bolger, as Olive Ostrovsky, a bookworm longing for her parents' acceptance, tugs as the shows' heartstrings.  Here sincerity in bringing a sense of humanity to the otherwise far out there characters, at least towards the beginning, helps initially balance the comedic and genuine aspects of the musical.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, as the hippie-raised insecure goober Leaf Coneybear, often garners a great majority of Spelling Bee's laughs, as the actor seems almost perfectly cast in the role.  Were anyone looking to see what Coneybear might look like as an adult, last seasons' television series "The Class" provides a classic example, with Ferguson playing an almost identical confidence lacking personality.

Rounding out the exceptional cast of youths is Sarah Saltzberg playing an oddly foreign-looking Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, whose last name is a combination of her two gay fathers, Deborah S. Craig as Marcy Park, a stereotypical go-getting Asian and Jose Llana, who keeps things slightly naughty as Chip Tolentino when he showcases a song about a misfortunate arousal.

And to keep the troublesome children in line, original cast members Derrick Baskin, Lisa Howard and Jay Reiss return with flawlessly funny performances.

Originally conceived by Rebecca Feldman, with additional material by Jay Reiss, Spelling Bee has some of its greatest moments thanks to the mature and catchy songs from William Finn.  With tunes like "My Unfortunate Erection," "Magic Foot" and "I'm Not That Smart," Finn keeps the humor abundant.

Beowulf Boritt's slightly askew set design, mostly a twisted high school gymnasium, captures the almost warped nature of Spelling Bee, as do Jennifer Caprio's vividly crazy costumes.

Spelling Bee often plays as a somewhat improvisational skit, yet never tires as many late-night comedy shows tend to do nowadays.  The show is C-L-E-V-E-R and H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S, and with its short run of one month in Los Angeles, is a tasty sampling of Broadway's delectable charm for West Coast audiences.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee plays through June 17 at the Wadsworth Theatre.  Tickets are $28 to $83 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the theatre's box-office, located at on the Veterans Administrations Grounds in West Los Angeles, on Wilshire Blvd. just west of the 405 freeway.  For more information, visit www.spellingbeethemusical.com.

Photos by Joan Marcus.  (Top) Jesse Tyler Ferguson; (Middle) Derrick Baskin, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Lisa Howard; (Bottom) Dan Fogler with cast.

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