Theatre Review :: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at The Kennedy Center

Matthew Murphy

Who would have thought that an improvisational play titled C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, would go on to become a sensation on Broadway and beyond with a fully fleshed-out book and songs, retitled The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee? Well, it did and when it opened on Broadway in 2005 it became a box office hit and earned six Tony Award nominations, winning for Best Book of a Musical and Best Featured Performance by an Actor in a Musical for Dan Fogler. Since then, the show has transitioned into productions around the world and is a favorite in schools and community theatre. Now as part of its Broadway Center Stage program of limited run revivals with big-name talent, The Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theatre has brought the show back to the stage.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is set in the Putnam High gymnasium where the titular event is about to take place, overseen by Rona Lisa Peretti, winner of the Third Annual Spelling Bee, and Vice Principal Douglas Panch, assisted by comfort counselor Mitch Mahoney. Before the show actually starts, members of the audience can sign up in the lobby to participate, and Rona Lisa calls up four lucky civilians before the main cast of characters are introduced. As each contestant is called up to spell, Rona Lisa also shares a little information about them in very humorous ways (describing one of the civilian contestants at our performance as a movie fan who loves the classics from Citizen Kane to Minions: The Rise of Gru). Each of the scripted contestants also has their own little backstory that get shared when they are called up to spell: Olive Ostrovsky is nervously waiting for her father to arrive (her mother is off in India); William Morris Barfée (and that’s pronounced BAR-FAY, despite what Panch thinks) has a ‘magic foot’ that he uses to spell out a word on the floor; Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre is socially aware and overly-coached by her over-bearing fathers; Marcy Park speaks several languages and wonders what it would be like if she actually failed; Leaf Coneybear is homeschooled, only getting into the contest by default, not believing he’s very smart, but becomes possessed when it’s time to spell; and Chip Tolentino, a former champ who is baffled by some of the words the others get (like ‘cow’) and who finds himself in an embarrassing predicament when he spots Leaf’s sister Marigold in the audience, putting his chances of winning in jeopardy. If you’re lucky and your audience has some celebrities in it, you may see the likes of Chef Carla Hall and actress Cobie Smulders among the civilian spellers (as we did, with Smulders introduced as a Canadian exchange student).

There are peripheral characters as well with the actors playing Leaf and Mitch doing double-duty as Logainne’s dads, and Olive’s parents played by the actors playing Rona Lisa and Mitch. There’s also another character who shows up played by the Chip actor, but if you haven’t seen the show we won’t spoil it here. In-between the spelling, the characters interact with each other, some develop crushes, some are devastated when they are eliminated, some are content to have just competed, each learning something about themselves — including the adults — and each other.

The Broadway Center Stage production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is awash with talent, with an amazing cast that includes some very well-known actors from movies and TV, and others that are well-known to Broadway aficionados. Beanie Feldstein takes on the role of Logainne, just perfect as a little girl with a lisp, dealing with the pressure of the competition put on her by her dads as demonstrated in her song ‘Woe is Me’. Feldstein totally nails the character and her singing is terrific. Noah Galvin is hilarious as Leaf, with some great comic timing (such as his reaction to the word ‘acouchi’) and a fantastic voice (‘I’m Not That Smart’). Kevin McHale is amazing as William Barfée, perpetually congested, allergic to peanuts, overly confident in his abilities, responding to every ‘correct’ from Panch with an ‘I know’, and nailing his ‘Magic Foot’ song. He also gets to lower his guard a little as he begins to realize he’s suffering from a bit of puppy love when it comes to Olive. A wonderful performance.

Matthew Murphy

Philippe Arroyo is fantastic as Chip, forced to rein in his disbelief at the words he gets compared to some of the others, and he really gets to let loose after his unfortunate incident leads to his elimination from the competition with the song ‘My Unfortunate Erection/Distraction (Chip’s Lament)’. He’s also very funny as that other character we mentioned. Leana Rae Concepcion is a joy as Marcy, probably the smartest of the bunch who maybe doesn’t need the competition to prove her intelligence, as she muses with her song ‘I Speak Six Languages’. One of the real stand-outs — and that is something with this cast — is Nina White as Olive, who really has the most poignant story of the group. Olive didn’t have the $25 entry fee (but Miss Peretti allowed her to compete anyway), her mom is off somewhere in India, and her work-oriented dad is late (and may never show) for another event. White really tugs at the heartstrings with ‘The I Love You Song’, with back-up from (in her mind) her parents. It is a lovely, emotional, heartbreaking but uplifting song that may just have you reaching for a tissue.

Taran Killam is hilarious as Panch, often ad-libbing the use of a word in a sentence and keeping things on track if a civilian speller is smarter than expected (at our performance one civilian got a difficult word correct and Killam called her back for a second word, telling her to misspell the word so they could move things along). Alex Joseph Grayson is wonderful as Mitch, serenading the spellers off the stage as they’re eliminated, and very moving in the ‘I Love You Song’ as Olive’s dad. Tony Award winner Bonnie Milligan is also a hoot as Rona Lisa, doling out the descriptions of each character each time they step up to the mic, and she also kills in the ‘I Love You Song’ as Olive’s mom. You could not ask for a better cast than this.

The set design by Paul Tate dePoo III looks like a real high school gym, and the lighting by David Weiner is used effectively to light the space as well as highlight a character during their big numbers. Emily Rebholz’s costumes completely transform these adult actors into children of all ages, very well-assisted by the casting by Geoff Josselson of youthful-looking actors. This production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is directed and choreographed by Danny Medford with some wonderful touches like the slo-mo scene that has to be seen to be appreciated. The book by Rachel Sheinkin is just so funny but full of warmth for the characters, and one moment with Logainne has obviously been updated to reflect our current political climate. William Finn’s songs are also wonderfully crafted, but that ‘I Love You Song’ is the real showstopper.

If you’re looking to have a fun two-hours, a way to escape the worries of the day, you can’t go wrong with a good musical comedy. And the Broadway Center Stage production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is the best escape imaginable. A great show, a great production and a great cast spells a night of great E-N-T-E-R-T-A-I-N-M-E-N-T.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee runs about 2 hours, no intermission (even though the show technically has two acts). Recommended for ages 13 and up.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee runs through October 20 at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theatre.

Meet the Cast of Broadway Center Stage: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee