13 year old Cockeysville resident is surprise hit at 'Bee'

Just imagine this scenario. You arrive at the Hippodrome Theatre accompanied by your 13 year old son and your cousin to see the "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee". As the house lights dim and the musical begins, several members of the audience are called to come on stage to participate in the spelling bee. Then you hear your son's name called and there goes young Ben Cummings walking confidently down the aisle and onto the stage of the Hippodrome. Can you imagine what was going through Veronica Cummings' mind when this happened?

Well, that's exactly what occurred last week during the Wednesday evening performance on Sept. 20. Cummings, who is a Hippodrome subscriber, arrived that evening with her cousin Anita Sabiszak, and her 13 year son, Ben. When they arrived at the Hippodrome, Ben's mother went to the Customer Service window. While his mother was otherwise engaged, Ben was approached by a member of the "Bee" staff to see if he would be interested in going to the "Bee" booth to discuss the possibility of him participating on stage in the show. Ben was asked a few questions and assured them he would NOT be embarrassed on stage. He was told to come back to the lobby ten minutes prior to the curtain to see if was one of the "chosen". Ben's mother had no idea of this. So Ben, his mother, and cousin, Anita Sabiszak then headed into the theater.

At the appropriate moment, Ben told his mother he was going to the rest room. In the lobby, Ben was informed he was selected along with three others and they were then rushed backstage, he told the staff of each of their seat location, and a member of the "Bee" staff then explained what would happen on stage. While his cousin Anita was well aware of what was happening, Ben's mother had NO idea.

Then the moment came that the Cummings Cockeysville clan will never forget. "Will Ben Cummings come on up" came the announcement by actress Jennifer Simard. And there went one of the cutest well-mannered young men you'll ever see head down the aisle, climb the steps to the stage and take his rightful place in the bleachers amongst the other six actors and the other locally chosen spellers. Each of the local participants were asked to spell words, they could ask their meaning, and could request the word be used in a sentence. Ben's first word to spell was "cow".  He then correctly spelled his second word.  It was not long that Ben was the ONLY local speller still in contention. He would remain on stage most of the first act and was constantly assisted by the other actors who let him know what to expect. He was given a warning to hold on tight when the bleachers were being turned around to keep him from falling off.

All during his time on stage, Ben never looked nervous because he really wasn't. Jokes were made about his bright red hair and a comparison was made that he looked like Ron from the "Harry Potter" film. He took all of this in stride. Ben shocked the actors on stage and the audience when he was asked to spell the word "caterjune", an old whaling term, and spelled it correctly. His mom yelled out "That's my boy!" It was a few minutes later when Ben was finally stumped. He was comforted by actor Alan Green, and escorted down the stage steps where he was forced to sit and be serenaded by the cast as his red locks of hair were stroked and attempted to be messed up (unsuccessfully).

 The ovation Ben received was the loudest the entire evening. Veronica Cummings said "What a wonderful memory this will be. But I wish I had a photo of him on stage."

Ben, who is in the 8th grade at St. Joseph's in Cockeysville, is no stranger to theater. He's a member of the school's Drama Club and has seen four shows at the Hippodrome: "Les Miserables", "Phantom of the Opera", "Hairspray", and "Oklahoma". He said he had no idea what to expect from seeing "Spelling Bee". He certainly didn't expect to become a "celebrity" for an evening. Following the show on the sidewalk outside the theater, people were congratulating him and even theater patrons driving by in cars rolled down their windows to sing their praises. It was certainly a "Night to Remember". If only someone from the show would think to take a photo of the local contestants to savor these memorable experiences.

 cgshubow@broadwayworld.com

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