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shannon_aK. and I saw The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee today at the Berkeley Playhouse, and it was one of my favorite musicals that we've seen there -- right up with Seussical, which got us going to that theatre. It's another very modern play, which upholds my belief that the modern musicals are my favorites (Spelling Bee, Seussical, Rent ... and based solely on the songs, Wicked, Avenue Q, and The Book of Mormon).
It's a pretty simple play, centered on a spelling bee. It's staged as if it were the Bee being presented, from front to back, which is clever. So, for example the regular theatre announcements came after the first song and a final refrain followed the bows. The play gains depth through its focus on the history and imaginations of the characters in the Bee, as we learn what drives them. The interweaving of the present and the past was well written and well staged and part of what I loved about the play. It was also well carried out with characters switching roles in such a believable way that I lost track of them doing so.
Oh, and the play was very funny. It won a Tony for its book, and watching the humor of the play (a lot of it embedded in the definitions of words), we saw why.
There was also some great audience participation. Four members of the audience were asked to participate when they came into the theatre, and then they were called onto stage, where they interacted with the actors, spelled words, and even participated in one of the dance numbers (with the actors providing a bit of direction). It worked amazingly well and was delightful to watch.
The songs were generally good. I loved an early song called Pandemonium, in part due to the great staging and the aforementioned audience participation. There was also a great imaginary song for one of the characters that I believe was called "The I Love You Song".
Overall, a terrific play: funny book, enjoyable lyrics, great directing, strong acting and singing. It continues through May 4 and is well recommended.
It's a pretty simple play, centered on a spelling bee. It's staged as if it were the Bee being presented, from front to back, which is clever. So, for example the regular theatre announcements came after the first song and a final refrain followed the bows. The play gains depth through its focus on the history and imaginations of the characters in the Bee, as we learn what drives them. The interweaving of the present and the past was well written and well staged and part of what I loved about the play. It was also well carried out with characters switching roles in such a believable way that I lost track of them doing so.
Oh, and the play was very funny. It won a Tony for its book, and watching the humor of the play (a lot of it embedded in the definitions of words), we saw why.
There was also some great audience participation. Four members of the audience were asked to participate when they came into the theatre, and then they were called onto stage, where they interacted with the actors, spelled words, and even participated in one of the dance numbers (with the actors providing a bit of direction). It worked amazingly well and was delightful to watch.
The songs were generally good. I loved an early song called Pandemonium, in part due to the great staging and the aforementioned audience participation. There was also a great imaginary song for one of the characters that I believe was called "The I Love You Song".
Overall, a terrific play: funny book, enjoyable lyrics, great directing, strong acting and singing. It continues through May 4 and is well recommended.