The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Theater West End • Sanford, Florida
Directed by Tara Kromer
by Carl F. Gauze
If you get excited by spelling bees like I do, you might just be a word junkie. These nerd fests test the idiosyncrasies of English vocabulary and pop up from time to time, allowing those of us who failed at throwing balls or out-running big guys on the football field to still achieve a little glory. Tonight, nine spellers tackle the letter order from “Arabesque” to “Zymurgy,” all for a ribbon of synthetic silk and bragging rights in the schoolyard.
Managing this literary fest-o-rama is Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Brent Jordan) and his MC and first assistant Marcy Park (Melina Kay). She announces the words, gives clues, and judges the unfit. As we rotate through students, any misspelling and, poof! they are tossed to the high school dogs. We chew up and spit out a few audience volunteers as well, but soon only the hardcore remain to slug it out in Act 2.
The words are tough and may challenge your vocabulary, and the emotions are equally strong. The heart of the show lies with the kids. William Barfee (Kit Cleto) maps his self-image into this challenge, and feels horrible when he misses an easy word. Meanwhile, lonely Olive Ostrovsky (Elina Moon) prays for her presumably alcoholic dad to attend anything she participated in. Mr. Barfee wiggles and squirms and almost makes it to the top, only to fail in the final clinch. It’s junior survival of the fittest, and that’s always a good show. While the set is rather sparse, the spellers are sharply incised with character and personal weirdness.
It’s a stressful evening for those on stage, but wry and nerdy fun for the rest of us. It’s fun, its silly, and it’s a reminder of a stressful life passage we all have passed. This competition makes a good start to adult life and teaches an important lesson: nothing you do ever really matters, and no one will care in a year.
The big lesson lies in the failures: You will fail, but it’s how you fail gracefully that makes you an adult.
https://theaterwestend.com
Spelling Bee plays through January 28, 2024.
