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The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee -
by Rachel Sheinkin . Composer/Lyricist William Finn .
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Conceived by Rebecca Feldman
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Directed by James Lapine . Musical Direction by Jodie Moore
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Produced by David Stone and James L Nederlander
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Reviewed by Ronnie Ruff
If you have ever gone through puberty (and this means you) The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will hit home with an extremely funny punch.
This Tony winning musical comedy provides a glimpse into the world of competitive spelling by spotlighting six young spelling bee champs fighting for a chance to compete for the National championship. Spelling some very hard words for your pleasure is the poster boy for sniffling geeks everywhere, a young skateboard hipster, a Boy Scout who has spontaneous embarrassing moments of passion, an Asian girl obsessed with winning, an aspiring politician with a lisp and a pretty young dreamer — add to this interesting group the Spelling Bee staff and four audience members recruited in the lobby to compete for the trophy, who quickly become crowd favorites and you have quite a cast.
You might ask how I know where the audience spellers are recruited. Yes, readers your humble reviewer was asked, no, begged to take the stage in the Bee. Not seeing the great opportunity to report on such a behind the scenes spectacle, I declined. This is all for the better because had I missed any of this high energy show by sitting on stage, I would have regretted it.
For those readers not familiar with The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a little history is in order. A phone call from playwright Wendy Wasserstein, who’s Nanny was on stage in an improv piece entitled C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, alerted composer Bill Finn to this gem. The show, originally conceived by Rebecca Feldman, was then developed into a full length musical. In February of 2004 the show that would be renamed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was workshopped and Broadway producer David Stone became involved – the rest is Tony history.
Only minutes into the show it becomes apparent why the “Bee” is so enjoyable. The characters are parodies of all your friends in school. Overachievers, geeks, those student government types and all the other quirky personalities that made up your school and every other one in America. With characters named Rona Lisa Peretti, Leaf Coneybear, William Barfee (Bar-fey if you please) and Olive Ostrovsky just to name a few, you can only imagine the fun .
The “Bee” has it’s share of toe tapping tunes but its strength is in the book which constantly evolves with intentional improvisation. Some of the best moments involve the audience members on stage along with the truly zany way the Bee’s moderators use the chosen words in sentences for the contestants. The eccentric mannerisms of some of the characters including Barfee’s magic foot and Coneybear’s skate geek charm have you rooting for your favorites to win. Winning is not everything we learn and losing sometimes is winning.
Standouts in the show are the afore mentioned Mr. Barfee (Eric Roediger), Marcy Park (Katie Boren) and my favorite Leaf Coneybear (Andrew Keenan-Bolger). Chip Tolentino’s (Justin Keys) bout with spontaneous erections is one of the shows funniest moments and the resulting concession snacks that he tosses into the audience after misspelling his word make for tasty treats for the ride home.
The costumes by Jennifer Caprio and the energetic choreography by Dan Knechtges are top notch. Rachel Sheinkin won the Tony for the book and after laughing your way through “Bee” it is very easy to see why.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a hoot of a musical that will have you in stitches throughout. Get down to The National Theatre and when a young lady asks if you would like to compete and be in the Spelling Bee consider saying yes. Whether speller or audience member, witnessing this show is a winning proposition for everyone.
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When: Now thru Nov 4: Tues-Sat, Evenings 8 pm, Sun 7:30 pm Matinees: Sat & Sun 2 pm
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Where: National Theatre 1321 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004
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Tickets: $41.50-$86.50 with some premium seating
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Info: 800 447 7400 www.telecharge.com
I just returned from the play with my son (14 years old and at a top private school in Washington)and 3 members of our book club and their parents. The tickets were $86.00 each. One question my son asked was why the black male character portrayed all the negative stereotypes? Out of Jail or whatever, baggy jean pants hanging down, gay acting partner of the child with two fathers. The others while possibly stereotyped, Asian– smart etc. were more positively portrayed. As Black parents we are bombarded with negative stereotypes of Black males. It would have been great to have spent upwards of $750 to see something positive about a Black male for a change. Many more of them are doing the right thing than not. Unfortanately only the negative gets all the press coverage.
Editor’s note: Lou Bellamy, founder of Penumbra Theatre Company, has responded to the questions raised here. Penumbra’s production of redshirts, co-produced with Round House Theatre, is currently playing at Round House Theatre/Silver Spring until Nov 11.
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Mr. Bellamy writes:
I invite you to visit Penumbra Theatre’s website (penumbratheatre.org). I think you’ll find substantive comment that speaks to your concerns. A quick look at our season will demonstrate that the plays, the people, the talent are out there.
It is the artistic directors in the various theaters who make choices about artistic teams, about plays. They are the ones who are presenting a vision of what they believe the world to be. Those who are sophisticated and aware of black images that do not conform to the stereotype will present complicated and thoughtful portrayals, those who are not, cannot.
My feeling is that African Americans must be responsible for the creation and maintenance of their own images, stories, and iconography. Only then, do we have a chance at truthful, complicated and loving portrayals. Keep the faith.
Penumbra Theatre
St. Paul, Minn
http://penumbratheatre.org
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Debbie Minter Jackson, reviewing redshirts for DCTS, says “it’s not usual to see that kind of youthful playful carousing among young black men on stage without a stereotyped “hood” threatening undertone, so this is quite refreshing to see.“
Mr. Bellamy returns to Washington in March to direct the staged reading of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at the Kennedy Center, part of the 10 play cycle August Wilson’s 20th Century .