(Photo credit: Derby Dinner Playhouse Facebook page)
What happens when you shove six quirky middle schoolers, an ex-convict “comfort counselor”, a strange vice-principal and a middle-aged former champion into an amateur level spelling bee? Apparently pure chaos. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a musical comedy about just that: six glory-hungry middle schoolers competing in a regional spelling showdown. Although it sounds straightforward, the bee is not without its challenges including magic foot malfunctions, pesky distractions, and so much more that fills the show with entertaining moments and plot lines. This show also features four randomly selected audience members who get the chance to participate and spell with the cast until elimination, providing an unexpected interactive aspect.
All of the actors on stage were incredibly talented and perfectly cast, especially the younger characters (played by adults) who immediately took on the physicality of middle schoolers from the moment they stepped on stage until their final bows. I was initially disappointed that I would not get the chance to experience the principle actor cast for the role of Leaf Coney Bear (Tai Rosenblatt), but his understudy, Nicholas Wills, brought high energy to his performance on a late notice and masterfully executed the character at hand. The principle performers took to the stage with excellent ability and clear understanding of their characters physicality and personality, especially Kate Drury (Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre), Zachary Burrell (William Barfee), Kasey Kraft (Marcy Park) and Shaquille Towns (Mitch Mahoney).
Aside from her wonderful vocals, Kate set incredibly high stakes for her character that were reinforced by her two dads, causing everyone in the audience to root for Logainne’s success. Her energy was youthful and set a playful tone, causing Logainne to seem physically younger than the actor, as well as suspending the viewers reality and heightening their investment in a grade school spelling bee.
Another actor who demonstrated great embodiment of her character is Kasey Kraft, who played Marcy Park. With this role, it’s hard to find a balance between Marcy’s professionalism and the kid inside of her; many actors often struggle with making Marcy too serious. Kasey Kraft did not. She managed to embody the nature of an absolutely genius kid, and as her character arc progressed, it was interesting to peer into Kasey’s playfulness and inner child. Her song “I Speak Six Languages” was done with such ease that I’m convinced she could perform her track in her sleep.
To contrast this energy, Zachary Burrell, who played William Barfee (pronounced Bar-FAY), has an incredibly standoff-ish and awkward personality, with many strange quirks such as his “Magic Foot” which he uses to assist him on spelling any word thrown his way. Zachary heavily committed to this tense energy, bringing the characteristics of unnatural behavior to light and never once allowing the audience to drop attention. His vocalization in the song “Magic Foot” helped to reinstate the oddness of Barfee while highlighting Zachary Burrells’ technique and talent.
Lastly but most certainly not least, Shaquille Towns shone brighter than the winners trophy, especially when singing. The second he opened his mouth the whole audience was either hit with laughter or struck with awe. He brought emotional depth as Olives’ dad in the “I Love You Song” causing the audience to get a grasp at Olive’s home life. To contrast this, he played Mitch Mahoney with a great deal of humor, bringing comfort to the most troubled spellers and winning over the viewers in minutes.
Overall, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was a wonderful production, containing hilarious jokes and a look into the lives of quirky grade schoolers. I applaud Derby Dinner’s attempts to accommodate the production to the round, but I found that most of the numbers particularly favored the ‘front’ of the house, causing other sides to get a slightly diminished view of this amazing production. It is running at the Derby Dinner Playhouse until March 29th, with limited ticket availability, so make sure to get your tickets now!
