THEATER REVIEW: “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” @ Cleveland Play House by Laura Kennelly

Photo by Roger Mastroianni

Through Sun 5/6

Remember the olden days when people had to be able to spell? No AutoCorrect? No fun shortcuts like TMI or YMMV? The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at The Cleveland Play House offers a fun and lively reminder of school days when spelling was a big deal. (I realize it still is for super-spellers, but not as much so for the rest of us. We’ve got spell check !)

The Allen Theatre production, with music and lyrics by William Finn, book by Rachel Sheinkin and direction by Marcia Milgrom Dodge, moves briskly with pleasant, if not memorable,  songs (accompanied by a small orchestra) and funny banter as six students vie for a spot in the “Nationals.”

The show really begins in the lobby where ticket holders may try out for spots onstage with the performers. Interested? Come an hour or so early.

Once inside the theater, we saw a simple stage, designed by Michael Schweikardt, that reminded  us of a school gym. The spelling contestants sat on bleachers waiting for their turn to be called up to the mic to spell. The  examiners sat behind tables.

Kirsten Wyatt played the oft-sorely tried moderator Rona Lisa Perretti.  John Scherer was the bumbling vice principal Mr. Panch. Garfield Hammonds played hip and sporty ex-con Mitch Mahoney. Mahoney’s community service job was to hand out treats and hugs to losers as the Official Comfort Counselor.

But of course, the actor kids (all played by adults) and guests stole the show. Part of the humor came from Scherer’s good-natured introductions spoken in tones usually reserved for announcing a sports lineup.

For example, one guest speller, a pretty teen, wearing a lovely and fashionable top with shoulder cutouts, was introduced as hoping to someday get a “blouse with sleeves on it.” Despite the ribbing, she spelled her word correctly. The already-selected guest speller for the night was local TV weather expert Betsy Kling. She had to spell the nautical term, “apoop.” As she quipped, she has children so she knew how to spell that one.

The last guest standing (a former teacher, perhaps?) spelled even the hardest words and made it almost to the final round. She probably would have, but they kept calling her back (three times in a row, I think) until she failed at the end of Act One.

The regulars in the cast included eager, but shy young speller Olive Ostrosky, wonderfully played by Ali Stroker (who relies on a wheelchair). Stoker turned a physical necessity into a super power, and earned plenty of laughs as she flew adeptly around the stage. Other contestants were Lee Slobotkin (as the awkwardly funny Leaf Coneybear), Chad Burris (as super-nervous speller William Barfee), Kay Trinidad Karns (as smarty Marcy Park), Andres Quintero (as sex-obsessed Chip Tolentino) and Mariah Burks (as Logainne SchwartzandGrubenniere whose long name poked fun at German constructions and the fact that she had two fathers).

BOTTOM LINE: It’s a show that’s full of itself — most often in a good way — and offers cute songs, such as “Magic Foot” in which Barfee reveals his spelling trick.

[Written by Laura Kennelly]

Cleveland, OH 44115

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