I could tell I was in for a fun, if not slightly chaotic, evening, as I waited in the gardens of the Queen’s College for the dress rehearsal of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (the title as wordy as the subject matter). Running from 18 to 20 May, the musical (directed by Harry Brook and produced by The Eglesfield Musical Society) follows on from the success of last year’s production of Little Shop of Horrors. An indisputably lesser-known musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a harder show to sell. Put simply, a group of young people compete for a spot at the national spelling bee. Beyond that, there is little plot.
And yet, I was drawn into the world of Spelling Bee before the performance had even begun. Cast members walked among the seats, sorting out their microphones and talking to crew members, always in character (American accents and all, which were excellent across the board). Olive Ostrovsky (Eva Bailey) came up to me, asking if I knew where her parents were – a question she continues to ask throughout the musical.
It seems inevitable that, at some point in every musical, there will be a whistle-stop number introducing the characters. The opening number of the Spelling Bee is no different, and it was on the strength of the actors that this one worked so well. Each character stands out visually (kudos to costume designers Ailish Gaughan and Mitra Stainsbury), whether wearing a pink power suit or bright yellow boots paired with a bike helmet. In their mannerisms, too, each performer seemed in complete command of their character.
When spelling “capybara”, Leaf Coneybear (Luke Nixon) appears possessed. William Barfée (Declan Ryder) has a similarly unorthodox technique, in which he spells out words across the stage with his “magic” foot; for a period of the performance, he wears a tap shoe. Both actors’ physical comedy was faultless, and they gave considerable energy to a show that, given its simple premise, could easily fall flat. The choreography of the early numbers especially deserves praise; it is difficult to do anything with chairs that feels original, but the choreography remained interesting throughout. Look out for Marcy Park’s (Emily Britto-Davis) lovely ribbon-work later in the show.
The fun of choreography was helped by the presence of audience members on stage (or, in the dress rehearsal at least, creatives/crew members), who didn’t know the dances. Yes, you read that correctly. This production has the wonderful, albeit slightly terrifying, element of audience participation in the early rounds of the competition. From the comfort of my seat, I could enjoy this for the spontaneous comedic moments it produced. Never quite clear what was improvised and what was intentional, I was especially captivated by Tess Klygis and Jake Dann as Rona Lisa Perretti and Vice Principal Panch respectively. The laughter of crew members around me only enhanced these moments – I felt like I’d been given a glimpse into a particularly tight-knit group of friends.
Where there were technical (and spelling) hiccups, cast members played these off well. Some of the show’s funniest moments came from confusion about some of the spellings, such as when Dann asked one of the “audience” members (producer Cameron Hutchinson) to spell “their/there”. (I’m still not completely sure which version was the correct one.) I don’t want to give away too many of the show’s surprises, but the joy of audience participation means each performance will be slightly different.
Accidental chaos aside, there is a certain amount of “pandemonium” embedded in the production. Nixon’s Coneybear offered me allergy medication as Chip Tolentino (Maurice Cole) sang about his “unfortunate erection”. At one point, God makes a cameo, but you’ll have to see the show yourself to find out where he appears.
The show begins to falter in its second half – the problem with staging a competition in which characters are gradually eliminated is that the energy of the early ensemble numbers becomes harder to sustain (a problem which lies not with the production, but with the writing). Nevertheless, there are still some highlights: Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre’s (Bella Diaz Pascual) “Woe is Me”, and “The I Love You Song”.The latter – performed by Bailey, Klygis and Cole – is perhaps the strongest vocal performance in a show where the singing was of a particularly high calibre. Grace Olusola, as Mitch Mahoney, is a constant presence on stage, and each of her moments is laced with perfect comedic timing (I spent too long early in the show trying to work out what book her character reads).
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is, in short, a lot of fun. It has the perfect amount of silliness to bring some light to the middle of term, when everyone begins to flag. If you go to see the show (and you really should), one piece of advice: bring a warm coat.
Tickets are available here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/oxford/the-queens-college/the-25th-annual-putnam-county-spelling-bee/e-rzobxv