Review: THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE at Smith Theatre

The Tony Award-winning musical follows a group of 'wonderfully unique and vibrant adolescents' competing for a bee championship that illustrates the importance of inclusion and community. 

Marissa Carson led the cast as Rona Lisa Perretti. She was confident and strong as the real estate mogul turned spelling bee judge and former champion. I would also love to highlight one of the signing actors, Alexandria Cessna, who played Leaf Coneybear's Interpreter. She was so energetic and exciting to watch. She perfectly added to Leaf's childlike character. OCC director, Jennifer Little brought together a unique cast of signing and singing actors. This element helped portray two different interpretations of the same character simultaneously which added so much dimension and character to this production.

A Musical for Hearing, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf Audiences 

The College production uniquely integrates hearing actors from OCC's Theatre Program and eight signing actors from OCC's Sign Language Interpreter Program, supervised by qualified mentors. The student shadow interpreters joined the show in a supervised clinical experience partnership between OCC's Theatre program and the Sign Language Interpreter program.  

Student supervision follows the requirements of the State of Michigan Deaf Person's Interpreter Act and the Memo of Understanding between the Michigan Division on Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing and the Michigan Interpreter Education Programs. 

ABOUT OCC

Oakland Community College offers nearly 100 degree and certificate programs with the resources students need to be successful and advance our community. As a top transfer institution, OCC offers one of the state's most affordable tuition rates and flexibility in scheduling with face-to-face and online options. The College is nationally recognized for its high-demand career training with expert faculty in their fields. More than 1 million students have enrolled in the College since it opened in 1965. Learn more at oaklandcc.edu.

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