"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" spells M-E-G-A-H-I-T for the folks at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre.
On Broadway, "Spelling Bee" opened in May 2005 and ran nearly three years. It won two Tony Awards and was nominated for six — a triumph for a one-act musical whose unlikely heroes are quirky adolescent outsiders who fit in only at spelling bees.
Summer Garden's show is lighthearted, spontaneous fun that tells a timeless story about six endearing adolescents, all convincingly played by young adults, who fiercely compete in a spelling bee to prove their worth to themselves. Through William Finn's enchanting score, these half-dozen overachieving outsiders tell their stories, displaying their spelling prowess under pressure, while revealing their vulnerability through their songs.
The cast also features three adults who manage the proceedings: a realtor and former Putnam County Spelling Bee champ who serves as emcee; a detached vice principal returning from a forced sabbatical to pronounce the words to be spelled; and a comfort counselor who is an ex-con working the Bee as part of his community service sentence dispensing juice boxes and words of comfort to losing spellers. Adding to the spontaneity of each performance are three audience volunteers selected to participate in the on-stage spelling competition.
Director and production manager Darnell Morris makes a memorable ASGT debut with this bright production, having assembled a talented cast to fill all roles. Trent Goldsmith serves as music director.
Choreographer Nicole Martin creates the spontaneous, often hyperkinetic choreography that is perfectly executed by cast members.
Rj Pavel, a student at Philadelphia's University of the Arts, delivers a stellar performance as Chip Tolentino, a hysterical former winner who complains about the difficult words he is given to spell and who later empties his candy carrier on the floor as he confronts his raging hormones in "Chip's Lament."
Jimmy Mavrikes, a sophomore musical theater major at Catholic University, makes his ASGT debut as nervous, hyperactive Leaf Coneybear, projecting a false bravado to mask his tortured insecurity in his well-sung "I'm Not That Smart," which hints at the idea of the insignificance of winning.
Another ASGT debuting musical theater major is Ithaca junior Mallory Newbrough, who plays the challenging role of Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere, the tightly wound outstanding student and equal-rights crusading daughter of two fathers who push her to excel.
College musical theater sophomore at AMDA-Los Angeles Alicia Osborn first appeared at ASGT in 2007 in "Godspell" and returns as Marcy Park, the girl who excels at everything and speaks six languages. She conveys Marcy's humanity when she admits she is "not all business."
Convincingly geekish and amazingly adept at spelling with his foot, college student Danny Baird is nearly perfect in his ASGT debut role as William Barfee, a character who relies on his magic foot to help spell out words. Singer-actor Baird creates a hilariously obnoxious kid who becomes a likeable young man first experiencing love with fellow speller Olive.
Abandoned by her parents, lonely overachiever Olive Ostrovsky is played by NYU junior Christina Carlucci, who is also making her ASGT debut. Carlucci displays fine acting skills and great pipes in the show's most poignant moment singing "The I Love You Song" with her stand-in parent, Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Duncan Hood) and Spelling Bee emcee Rona Peretti (Wendy Baird).
Wendy Baird is outstanding as former spelling champ Rona Peretti, and brings conviction and warmth to a role that has her trying to maintain order amid frequent chaos. She dispenses meaningless facts about the contestants while conveying the joy of winning that sometimes seems tinged with the knowledge that winning isn't really everything. Baird displays a fine singing voice in "My Favorite Moment of the Bee" and in the "I Love You Song" trio.
AACC music major Tobias Young makes his ASGT debut as Mitch Mahoney and proves he not only sings well but is a convincing actor and skilled comedian.
Two actors share the role of Vice Principal Panch — Duncan Hood from June 24 through July 11 and David Thompson July 15-25. On opening night Duncan Hood brought his impressive talents to this non-singing role that seemed fresh and filled with extemporaneous brilliance whenever Hood's vice principal ad-libbed a word definition.
Led by pianist conductor Ken Kimble, talented musicians include Larry Berry on drums, Elizabeth Kimble on flute, strings and synthesizer, Karl Alexander and Scott Morrow on reeds.
ASGT warns that this show contains mature themes and content and is not recommended for children under age 13. It continues Thursday through Sunday evenings at 8:30 pm through July 25. Tickets are $18 per person and can be purchased with a credit card at http://www.summergarden.com or call 410-268-9212 for reservations.