The Cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at CenterRep
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee: Musical Comedy. Music and Lyrics by William Finn. Book by Rachel Sheinkin. Conceived by Rebecca Feldman. Directed by Jeff Collister. Music Direction by Brandon Adams. Choreographed by Jennifer Perry. Center REPertory Company 1601 Civic Drive in downtown Walnut Creek. 925-943-7469, or www.CenterREP.org. May 16 – June 21, 2014
[rating:5] (5of5Stars)An energetic/delightful/winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Center Rep.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (APCSB) hit the Broadway stage in 2005 after a circuitous journey starting from improvisational act called C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E ( meaning tenebrosity. . . look it up) and lasted for 1,136 performances winning multiple awards before its journey to multiple local venues around the U.S.A. In 2009 the Willows Theatre’s performed it in a miniscule cabaret in Martinez and as directed by Marilyn Langbehn was described by this reviewer: “The cast seemed to have as much or more fun than the audience since they emphasize the humor without fully developing the bittersweet pathos written into the text.” That same year San Jose Rep mounted the play under Timothy Near’s direction: “If there were Tony Awards for West Coast shows San Jose Rep’s production of . . . Spelling Bee would garner multiple nominations and winners.”
Center Rep has taken a different approach creating a gay splash emphasizing musical aspects with exuberant dancing (Jennifer Perry) and singing and allowing the superb cast to pull out all the stops with broad acting yet keeping more than a modicum of pathos. All this plays out on a fantastic semi-surrealistic (Kelly Tighe) gymnasium set with lighting design by Kurt Landisman. Once again CenterRep has a “must see” show.
The place is the gymnasium of the Putnam County Middle School where the 25th Annual Spelling Bee is being held under the leadership of the County’s number one realtor Rona Lisa Perretti (Leanne Borghesi) who was the winner of the 3rd APCSB by spelling “syzygfy.” She is assisted by the Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Michael Patrick Gaffney) who has the dubious pleasure of reiterating, with the company as backup, “The Rules.” Then there is Mitch Mahoney (Berwick Haynes) an ex-con doing community service as the “Official Comfort Counselor” who gives the losers a hug and a box of fruit juice as he leads them off stage.
Enough about the adults, except to say, that Borghesi and Haynes have powerful voices and excellent comedic timing holding their own with the talented cast of “youngsters.” Those “youngsters” are not by any stretch of the imaginations middle-school denizens but they add a lot of verisimilitude to their roles as youngsters and all give whirlwind performances.
Before the evening is over you will have your own preference/choice for who should be the winner. Of course there is only one winner but before the show ends the company reminds us of that coming in second is not so bad with the upbeat song “Second.”
You will not recognize Brittany Danielle with her blond hair pulled almost into a pony-tail and a lisp in her voice as Logainne SchwartzandGrubenniere the daughter of two gay men who would do anything for her to win. The most poignant of the group is charming Mindy Lym as Olive Ostrovsky whose mother is in India and her father is working late and may miss the contest. Her final duet with Zac Schuman as William Barfee (pronounced Bar-Fay) is a gem. He initially comes on stage a bit too strong but is marvelous as the speller with the magic foot who may be willing to forfeit winning for the love of Olive. Then there is Adam Elsberry as Issac ‘Chip’ Berkowitz the winner of last year’s competition but finds that puberty is affecting his concentration.
Zac Schuman as William Barfee (bar-Fay)
Adding to the fun are three members selected from the audience to participate in the spelling bee. One by one they are eliminated until only of the youngsters is the winner. That information will remain a secret. Consider it another reason to see this hilarious musical. Running time a fast paced 90 minutes without intermission.
CAST: Leanne Borghesi as Rona Lisa Perretti; Brittany Danielle as Logainne SchwartzandGrubenniere; Adam Elsberry as Isaac “Chip” Berkowitz; Michael Patrick Gaffney as Vice Principal Douglas Panch; Berwick Haynes as Mitch Mahoney; Lindsay Hirata as Marcy Park; Mindy Lym as Olive Ostrovsky; Zac Schuman as William Barfee; Warren McLean Wernick as Leaf Coneybear.
ARTISTIC CREW: Directed by Jeff Collister; Music Direction by Brandon Adams; Choreographed by Jennifer Perry. Creative Team: Set Design by Kelly Tighe; Lighting Design by Kurt Landisman; Costume Design by Victoria Livingston-Hall; Sound Design by Jeff Mockus; Stage Managed by Nicole Langley*
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com
