Pulling on “Godspell” and other lighthearted musical routes where adults play kids to evoke childlike wonder, the revival of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” delivers us many laughs in its brisk 1.75 hour retelling.
The set (designed by Teresa L. Williams) ably evokes a school gymnasium converted to a spelling bee championship. The band is on a platform above.
Guests in the know beforehand lined up for a chance to be contestants in the spelling bee. This tactic elicited some clever improvisation once the show was underway, especially when one audience member successfully spelled a bizarre word intended to usher them off the stage.
The actual actors invariably portray a range of somewhat typical characters, yet each is believable. Kevin McHale is the snot nosed kid William Barfée who uses his foot to spell the words, Leana Rae Concepcion is the Asian polyglot Marcy Park who breaks through the stereotype expected by her family and us.
Judging the contestants is Jon (“Pretty in Pink”) Cryer as a vice principal who yearns for one more step up the professional ladder and Lilli Cooper as Rona Lisa Peretty bringing her prior dreams of glory of winning the spelling bee years earlier.
A consistently numerous convention is integrated into the rules, whereby contestants can ask to have the word in question used in a sentence.
Several of the songs were especially helpful to provide further depth to the characters. Nonetheless, a few songs slip into being too clever by half. Director Danny Mefford maintains a brisk cadence to the intermissionless proceedings.
Without the slightly cutting edge of “Avenue Q”, this is a lighthearted romp for revisiting childhood foibles.
Tickets and more information here.
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