Brisbane Arts Theatre present a truly delightful production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, with a cast of loveable characters and all-round impressive vocal performances. This production is directed by Natalie Mead, with assistant direction by Amanda Lay and music direction by Emma Parkinson.
As the title suggests, this musical comedy takes place at the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and things are getting serious. There are parents who will do anything to win, rivalries and friendships forming, rules to be followed, and words to be spelled. As the pool of contestants grows smaller, there can only be one champion (but everyone else gets a juice box).
With music and lyrics by William Finn and a book written by Rachel Sheinkin, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee premiered on Broadway in 2005 and went on to win a number of awards including the Tony Award for Best Book. The musical follows the Bee’s top six contenders, and four audience members were also brought onstage to vie for the trophy: Chip Tolentino (Harrison Wilkes) is a boy scout and the incumbent Spelling Bee champ, who is struggling with the onset of puberty; Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere (Eloise Newman) is the lisping GSA president and under significant pressure from her fathers to win; William Barfée (Timothy Buckney) has medical problems aplenty, but he also has a magic foot that helps him spell; former national representative Marcy Park (Daisy Thwaites) is a devout Christian to whom being exceptional comes easily; Leaf Coneybear (Pip Richardson) makes his own clothes and is just happy to be participating, after placing third in his local Spelling Bee; and shy, quiet Olive Ostrovsky (Rhea Basha) turns up unsupervised and without the entrance fee.
The Bee is hosted by Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Troy Bullock), and former spelling Bee winner Rona Lisa Peretti (Stephanie Collins). The losers collected their conciliatory juice box from Mitch Mahoney (Benjamin Oxley) a deceptively threatening figure who is acting as the comfort counsellor for the event to complete his community service. Each of the six main contestants had a solo song that expanded upon their lives, as did Mitch.
As each speller approached the microphone, Ms Peretti shared a fun fact about them with the audience, some of which furthered the characters and some of which were ludicrous and contributed to the comedy. Competitors were allowed to ask for the word’s definition and to hear it used in a sentence, and these were also increasingly silly. The improvised elements of the musical were managed well by the cast and added to the comedy, while elements of audience participation and a cameo from Jesus were also comedic highlights.
Aspects of the musical had been added or updated for modern times (including references to the Titan submersible that imploded in June, en route to the wreck of the Titanic) but I did find it odd that the musical was written in 2005 and has lyrics that refers to Bombay rather than Mumbai, the city’s name since 1995.
Costume design by Kate Clarke distinguished each character and revealed more about them, and set design and construction by Scott Lymbery made good use of the stage space in conjunction with choreography by Szonja Meszaros. The actors also moved through the auditorium, interacting with the audience as spectators of the spelling bee, including supportive family members. Sound design and vocal direction by Jayke T-Hunt and lighting design and technical direction by George Pitt added to the impressive staging and ensured that the show’s technical elements were delivered smoothly.
I had never seen The 25th Putnam County Spelling Bee before and it subverted my expectations in many ways. I enjoyed the way each character evolved until even the most initially unsufferable became someone the audience was rooting for.
The cast of six spellers – particularly Buckney’s Barfée – brought an exuberant childishness to their roles and gave excellent vocal performances. The actors seemed to be enjoying themselves, which always adds to the positive energy of a comedic performance, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Brisbane Arts Theatre was altogether a heartwarming and hilarious night at the theatre.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will be performed at the Brisbane Arts Theatre, Petrie Terrace from 19 August – 30 September 2023
For ticketing and further information, visit the Brisbane Arts Theatre website
Backstreet Brisbane 
Leave a comment