Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a very unique and intelligent musical because it tackles actual issues that every single person, no matter who they are, can relate to. Everyone has felt like the miscast of society at some point and has been the victim of childhood teasing. So many of our burdens that we hang onto as adults, we realize, come from childhood when people teased us or we felt pressured into various things. Spelling Bee tackles these issues in a humorous way, taking six children who are competing in a major spelling bee championship. Each child takes the spotlight and explains the burdens he or she has and why they are at the spelling bee. The show has the ability to release emotion in the audience and tell them that we are all alive in this experience because we have all been there.

The Secret Theater’s production is a very worthwhile experience, even if it is lacking in space to have as innovative choreography and staging as the original Broadway production. While the message of insecurities and burdens does not reach its full potential, it certainly gets across and the cast does a very competent job.

The reason the message does not get across as well as it could is because everyone in the cast, to various levels, has a little bit of a wall up that prevents the audience from truly coming into this spelling bee world. The show is so delightful because it is performed in a very small theater so the audience can feel like they are attending the spelling bee. The cast, however, did not look directly at the audience when they had lines addressed to the audience. They were always a little disconnected from the audience. It was such a subtle problem, but unfortunately, it did make a big difference.

The fun and profound script keeps the cast honest to an extent. One of the best moments in the entire play is when Chip Tolentino (Richard Altmanshofer) has a moment where he suddenly notices an attractive female in the audience and gets distracted from the spelling bee. Altmanshofer picked a specific female in the audience and directed that moment to her. It was a very effective moment and a bit of a tease simply because there needed to be that connection throughout the entire show.

The highlights of the evening are Taryn Turney as Logaine and Michael Mendez as William Barfee. They play these larger-than-life characters very well with big choices and a lot of personality. Not only are their acting choices strong, but also their physical choices are very specific and interesting. Ali Axelrad sings beautifully and has a very likeable quality for the role of Olive, but she is overshadowed by a script that has other more interesting characters. It is very rare that she gets to deliver the punch line of a joke, but that is by no means her fault. Her compassion in “The I Love You Song” was very strong and connected to the circumstances of the moment. Megan Kip also has a very strong voice for the role of Rona Lisa Peretti and definitely makes the role more interesting than it has typically been performed.

The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is certainly a cute time at the theater. The little script surprises are innovative, and the play raises issues that causes the audience to re-examine aspects of their lives. Little mechanics of the production are not 100% on, but overall good choices and a good script are definitely entertaining.