Allen Contemporary Theatre (ACT) has brought William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, to life with a production that was full of energetic fun. The show, which follows a motley crew of middle school spelling champions vying for the title, remains a quirky concept, and ACT’s cast approached the material with genuine and silly enthusiasm.
Missing out on opening weekend, the cast was certainly comfortable in their roles by last Thursday’s performance. So they, along with director Eddy Herring, effectively captured the spirit of the sassy, musical comedy.
The impression started with the high school gymnasium-like setting that was a mix of both projection and set design by Herring. With large ensemble numbers, volunteer spellers from the audience and some sweet moments, ACT’s production moved with a brisk pace that had the audience perpetually laughing with some occasional gasps at the story’s funny but always unexpected adult humor.
The ensemble also delivered some serious commitment to these oddball characters.
The adults — Rona Lisa Peretti, Vice Principal Panch and comfort counselor Mitch Mahoney are there to anchor the spellers’ erratic behavior but still serve some unhinged comedy. As the real estate agent and former Spelling Bee champion Rona, Laura Alley was ideal as the glamorous and proper host of the event with her mix of uptight germaphobia and onstage preening. Christian R. Black was all swagger as Mitch, but belted out his songs with great vocal flair. And I was an immediate fan of Keegan Arnold’s dry deadpan delivery of Panch.
The six spellers were all colorful characters and each actor handled their role with a spunky conviction. As Marcy, Emily Fabrega fully understood her character’s overachieving phenom. Skylar Navratil brought a lovely sympathy to Olive. Jacob Waters walked the line successfully as Leaf, who could likely be considered on the spectrum. Waters performance was both thoughtful and entertaining.
Bryson Morlan felt a bit miscast as the alpha Chip Tolentino, the previous spelling bee champion defending his title, however, he delivered the character with gusto and top notch comedic timing. As Logainne who has to live up to her two dads’ competitive approval, Chelsea Catalano navigated a sweet performance as the young teen struggling with social pressures amid the high stakes at hand.
Of particular note, Blake Rice delivered a splendid performance as the highly confident but anxious William Barfee. Barfee thinks he’s an island but slowly opens up to those around him – particularly Olive. Rice’s caricature of Barfee with his pursed lips and solid stature could have easily been one-note, but the actor’s slight nuances elevated into an endearing performance.
An ACT rarity – at least for me – was the presence of live music. Music Director and pianist Timothy Jenkins and musician Gabe Dameron provided a remarkable full-sounding score as a duo. Jenkins’ direction was evident not just with the music but also leading the actors into strongharmonies and powerful vocals.
ACT’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee struck a balance between lighthearted fun and genuine heart. While some audience members questioned a spelling bee as the central premise – ok, the people next to me – the production won over any doubters with hefty applause. The characters’ relatable adolescent struggles resonated with laughs and tenderness.
The show runs through Sunday.
–Rich Lopez