Kennedy Center’s ‘25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ Is Sweet As Honey
By • October 15, 2024 0 420
William Finn’s Tony Award–winning musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is spellbinding crowds at the Kennedy Center until Oct. 20. Directed by “Kimberly Akimbo” alumnus Danny Mefford, the show follows six socially-awkward brainiacs during the most momentous, nerve-wracking occasion of their young lives: their local spelling bee final. Terrified of failure and hungry to proceed to the next round of competition in Washington, D.C., these kiddos tie themselves in knots to avoid hearing the fearsome ding of the bell. With an uproarious script and an ensemble for the ages, ‘Spelling Bee’ is guaranteed to have you smiling from ear to ear from start to finish.
Former Putnam County Spelling Bee champion Rona Lisa Peretti (played by Bonnie Milligan) and crotchety Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Taran Killam) serve as the Bee’s hilarious masters of ceremonies. Whereas Rona is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Vice Principal Panch is delectably jaded—a contrast with delightful consequence. From Milligan’s crisp, sugary vibrato to Killam’s deadpan delivery, under their juxtaposed jurisdiction, “Can you use it in a sentence?” is a coveted question: their subsequent examples are nothing short of side-splitting.
Rounding out the group of ringleaders is comfort counselor Mitch Mahoney, portrayed by Alex Joseph Grayson. When proceedings, unsurprisingly, begin veering off the rails, Mitch is the steady hand who helps get things back on track. Thanks to Grayson’s commanding stage presence, Mitch’s sage words—along with his juice box consolation prizes—offer comfort to the youngsters, deteriorating commentators, and audience alike.
Speaking of our spellers, Beanie Feldstein of “Booksmart” fame is cute as a button as 10-year-old Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre—Putnam’s tiniest wordsmith with big expectations to fill courtesy of her overbearing fathers. Whether Logainne is unraveling over school libraries banning Betty Friedan’s bestselling book, “The Feminine Mystique,” the devastating cancellation of drag brunch, or the spelling of “sluice,” her anxiety is simultaneously “aww”-inducing and endlessly amusing. Though in “Woe is Me” Logainne earnestly ponders whether America will still love her if she cannot secure the big win, Feldstein’s tender portrayal ensures her character’s lovability is never in doubt.
Nina White is equally adorable as soft-spoken Olive Ostrovsky. While Logainne’s parents are destructively omnipresent, Olive’s are missing in action. Haunted by the empty chairs she’s saved for her mom and dad at the competition, Olive finds comfort in her most steadfast companion: the dictionary. Though mild-mannered throughout the majority of the bee, her quiet heartbreak transforms into something thunderous and untamable in “The I Love You Song” as she imagines her parents reaffirming their affection in spite of their perpetual absence in her life. White tackles Olive’s with a gentle touch and a tender heart—as can be seen beating on her sleeve.
Marcy Park, played by Leana Rae Concepcion experiences a similar, surmounting exasperation over the course of the show, culminating in fan-favorite number “I Speak Six Languages.” Appropriately beginning with her juggling, within the number, Marcy rattles off the lengthy list of the extracurriculars that are slowly but surely extinguishing her joy. A song about the triumph that can come from trimming the fat, once Marcy has the chance to purge herself of her all-consuming perfectionism, Concepcion’s beaming smile externalizes her character’s hard-won liberation.
In stark contrast to Marcy Park’s debilitating overachievement, Leaf Coneybear—portrayed brilliantly by “Theatre Camp” star Noah Galvin—is just happy to be here. Unconvinced of his intellect thanks to his family’s apathy, Leaf is responsible for some of the strongest comedic moments of the entire show. Whenever he spells, Leaf is overtaken by a spell of his own—as his consciousness flickers, his eyes roll into the back of his head and his voice drops multiple octaves into something resembling the gravelly husk of a chainsmoker.
While Leaf is refreshingly upbeat compared to his high-strung competitors, the same cannot be said of Chip Tolentino (Philippe Arroyo) and William Barfée (Kevin McHale). Following a truly unfortunate occurrence at the microphone, Chip becomes downtrodden in the face of defeat. Perceiving this embarrassment to be all-together earth-shattering, Arroyo’s portrayal of Chip’s downfall is another one of the show’s many humorous highlights. Similarly, even when William Barfée—pronounced, notably, like “Bar-fay”—is riding high thanks to the power of his “Magic Foot,” he can’t help but kill the buzz with his arrogance, thinly-veiled rage and perpetual sniffles. Considering his sunny disposition offstage, watching “Glee” star Kevin McHale embody such an unapologetic downer is an absolute treat.
Fittingly, considering the show’s insistence that “life is pandemonium,” one of the most thrilling elements of ‘Spelling Bee’ is its mercurial construction. Before every performance, attendees swarm in the lobby to sign up for the chance to join the cast on stage to spell a few words. More than your conventional, surface-level audience engagement, the four spellers selected experience much more than five seconds of fame. Since they remain on stage until they misspell a word, some especially astute contestants end up staying onstage for a substantial chunk of the show’s beginning.
During the performance on Sunday, Oct. 13, surprise contestants included the likes of culinary personality Carla Hall—signature red spectacles and all—and Cobie Smulders of “How I Met Your Mother” fame (who is married to Killam). Hall’s commitment to her impromptu performance was particularly joyous to watch. Rather than just sitting quietly in her seat as musical numbers whirled around her, she could often be seen moving and grooving in the background, evidently invigorated by the production’s infectious energy. However, despite Hall and Smulders’ best efforts, the last speller standing was a young woman by the name of Vivienne. After her correct spelling of “catterjunes”—much to the evident shock of the cast—Vivienne’s next word was made all-but impossible for the sake of keeping the show moving. After such a strong showing, she collected her conciliatory juice box with pride.
To quote Rona’s winning word from Putnam’s third annual bee, this performance shines brightly thanks to the syzygy of a remarkable cast and a stinger-sharp script. Courtesy of its quicksilver quality, ‘Spelling Bee’ lends itself to comedic gold.
Make a beeline to The Kennedy Center to catch ‘25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ before its run concludes on Oct. 20. Tickets for the production can be purchased here.
