The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Gets A Gold Star
The Spellers. (photo by Matthew R. Throssell)Top row (L-R): Sarah Petty, Robert Scherzer, William Williams; bottom row: Ashley FitzSimmons, Justin Huertas, Kelly Mak
Six “contestants” march into the gym, staunchly ready to spell, and we are introduced to - and made to laugh at - each one’s oddities. There’s the Overachieving Asian (Kelly Mak), The Boy Scout (Justin Huertas), plus an assortment of dweebs, know-it-all’s and smart-ass snobs. (We recognized at least four prototypes from our own grade-school days, a 60% success rate). Four audience members are invited up as spelling contestants, too, and the bee begins.
Fans of Spellbound or the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee will recognize some totally true spelling bee behaviors. Many are taken to the extreme, like William Barfée’s (Robert Scherzer) “magic foot” technique, but otherwise Spelling Bee simply mines the hilarity of awkward overachievers thrown into a competition where the best speller won’t necessarily win.
But maybe Marcy Park doesn’t want to be the best, or William Barfée finds himself developing a crush on Olive Ostrovsky (Ashley FitzSimmons). The spelling bee moderator, Rona Lisa Peretti (actor/director Kate Jaeger), is herself a former champion speller, and the creepy Vice Principle Panch (Douglass Willott), in regards to the incident “five years ago”, is in “a much better place now.” Spelling Bee, by giving its caricatures* personalities, helps puts the bee into perspective. It's touching, but never forgets to make you laugh.
This production - snugly situated in The Ballard Underground space - is jointly presented by Contemporary Classics and RK Productions. It’s executed with pep and pomp, and superbly cast. Overall very fun, and a fine time.
* We had to look up the spelling of "caricature".
Through August 14 (Monday night shows July 19 and August 9) // The Ballard Underground, 2220 NW Market Street // $20 general admission, $15 students, tickets and show info here
