It would be one of the easier words to spell in the awesome production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Howard Community College’s Arts Collective as it concludes its 21st season. However, that word defines the show and its characters. @hoc@
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| Kaity Krull (Schwarzy), Jordan Colea (Marcy),
Cole Watts (Leaf), Diego Esmolo (Chip), Warren Harris (Barfée), Lauren Blake Williams (Rona), Daniel Johnston (Panch), Gabrielle Amaro (Olive), Brandon Love (Mitch) Photo: St. Johnn Blondell |
The popular musical whose music and
lyrics by William Finn and the book by Rachel Sheinkin snared a couple of Tony
Awards and three Drama Desk Awards in 2005, had a successful run on Broadway
and is widely presented throughout the U.S. and the world. #hocoarts
Anthony Scimonelli directed the
Arts Collective production, which alternately induces laughter and pathos, with
a sure-fire guiding hand. He is blessed
with a young talented cast and an excellent creative team that make this production
a delight while staying true to the quirkiness of the plot.
The story of six idiosyncratic
middle schoolers as they navigate through life’s challenges and puberty while
fiercely competing in a spelling bee in Putnam County for a shot at a national
title is the show’s foundation. Four audience
members who had signed up in advance participate onstage, which adds more joy
and an air of unpredictability to the action.
The back stories of each of the
teens are presented as they compete hard for victory and through song and dance.
They all perform quite nicely both as
solo performances or in group numbers, and with the nifty choreography by Jess
Beach, they dance well. Some in the cast
are called on to play multiple roles that showcase their talents.
The first thing the audience
will notice upon entering the Studio Theatre is Mollie Singer’s clever set
depicting a high school gymnasium complete with a basketball hoop above and a
foul lane on the floor where the spelling bee takes place. Add banners on the wall representing Putnam
High School championships in not-so-major sporting endeavors, a two-tier row of
chairs for the contestants and a table for the bee’s moderators and you have
one terrific functional set in which the performers have sufficient room to
execute their dance numbers.
Before we get to the
pre-pubescent characters, one must look at the two adults on the stage. Lauren
Blake Williams who primarily plays Rona Lisa Paretti, a top local real estate
agent and former spelling bee champion.
She seems to be the most together of all the characters and becomes the
anchor of the show.
Ms. Williams plays the role with
ease and comfort and possesses a lovely singing voice to boot. She performs very well in a series of “Rona’s
Favorite Moment” numbers. Though Mayumi Baker Griffie’s four-piece orchestra is
excellent, its close proximity to the action and the physical construct of the theater
causes the sound to overwhelm Ms. Williams’ vocals at times as well as those of
other performers. A solution would be to
mic the performers to create more balance.
Daniel Johnston as Vice
Principal Douglas Panch effectively provides much of the comedic lines
throughout. He is the other spelling bee’s
moderator whose sarcasm and zingers as well as his examples of sentences on how
the contested words are used are often hilarious.
Mr. Johnston plays two other
characters including Jesus, no less, and does so with mischief. The third character, the gay father of one of
the contestants, is portrayed with high camp and relish but a bit too
stereotypically.
He and his partner’s (Diego
Esmolo) daughter, Logainne “Schwarzy” SchwartzandGrubenierre (their
sir names combined) is the youngest of the contestants. Played by Kaity Krull, she is subject to her
dads’ pressure to win the bee. Her
performance of “Woe is Me,” which is reprised upon her elimination from the
competition ably reflects the stress placed on her by her overbearing dads.
Cole Richard Watts plays the homeschooled
Leaf Coneybear with great charm. Told he
was not smart by his family, he overcomes that notion by his ability to spell
words in a trance. Mr. Watts possesses an outstanding singing voice, which is
on display in “I’m Not That Smart.”
Another contestant is Olive
Ostrovsky played by Gabrielle Amaro. Her
mother is away and her father is always working late and she is not receiving the
love she needs. While spelling one of
the words in the bee, she envisions her parents being there to support her in
what is the show’s most powerful and dramatic ballad, “The I Love You Song.” Excellent vocals from Ms. Amaro bring heft to
the song aided superbly by Ms. Williams and Mr. Watts who portray her parents.
Warren C. Harris ably plays
another comical character William Morris Barfée (note the accent
mark). The constant mispronunciation of
his last name by moderator Douglas Panch becomes a running joke.
Allergic to peanuts, another comic point, Barfée
uses his foot to spell out words on the ground so he can visualize them. He does well in several musical numbers
including “Magic Foot.”
One of the more interesting characters is Marcy Park
played superbly by Jordan Colea. A true
overachiever (she speaks six languages and excels in sports and classical
music), she is not allowed to cry, gets three hours of sleep and attends the
Catholic school, Our Lady of Intermittent Sorrows.
Cocky
from winning all the time, Marcy finally falls in the competition. Her rendition of “I Speak Six Languages” is
excellent.
Diego Esmolo plays boy scout
Charlito “Chip” Tolentino. His chances
to win back-to-back titles suffer when puberty hit him at an inopportune
time. Mr. Esmolo is excellent in the high-tempo
production number “Pandemonium.”
Rounding out the cast is Brandon
Love as Mitch Mahoney, an ex-con who is performing community service to help
with the spelling bee. He is the
comforter-in-chief and hands out juice boxes as each contestant is eliminated. Mr. Love performs well in “Prayer of the
Comfort Counselor.”
The 25th
Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a joy to experience. Andrew Haag’s spot-on lighting design and the
costumes by Robert Croghan cap off an expertly directed production performed by
a wonderful cast and should not be missed.
Running time: Two hours and 5
minutes with an intermission.Advisory: There is adult material and the show is not recommended for children under 12.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee runs weekends through June 5 at the Studio Theatre – Howard Community College, Horowitz Center, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at 443-518-1500 or visiting online.
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