Middle school takes over community college in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”

For the debut of the Shoebox Theater, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was an astonishing way to show off student actors and their vocal talents.

By: Alexis Harris, Staff Writer

The theater department selected the Shoebox Theater for their first show, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” This musical centers on six middle school aged students who not only compete in the spelling bee, but grapple with their ambitions and personal issues.

The set designers took advantage of the new Shoebox Theater, displaying bright lights and an immaculately placed stage. It portrayed a middle school gymnasium with seats, school posters, an announcer desk and a trophy for the winner of the Bee. The stage was beautifully set with vibrantly colored posters on the walls. 

The costumes, designed by Kim DeShazo, captured the vibe of a middle school incredibly well. A live band played during the musical, adding to my experience. Neil Cole on the mixed reeds and Max Mueller on the cello especially stood out to me for their expertise with their respective instruments.

Leaf Coneybear was the first character that I started rooting for. His entire premise is that he isn’t smart. He happens to be a really good speller and enjoys spelling despite his entire family calling him the “stupid child”, explained in his song, “I’m Not That Smart”. 

Coneybear was especially enjoyable to watch, and CJ Taylor did an amazing job portraying him. Coneybear appeared to be on the autism spectrum, and I think a lot of us who are neurodivergent would find him extremely relatable. It was genuinely heartbreaking to see him eliminated, and the entire audience let out a poignant “aww” as Coneybear was sent off. 

Logainne Schwartzy’s motivation was to win the love of her two dads, who groomed her from birth to be a winner and to condemn losers. When she was eliminated, she said, “If you still don’t love me, America, I’d understand why. America hates losers and so do I.” 

Chip Tolentino wanted to win, but his unexpected erection during the middle of his spelling got him disqualified when he was distracted by a beautiful girl in the audience. We didn’t get much of his background.

William Barfeé (pronounced Bar-fay), whose name was often mispronounced as Barfy, was my least favorite character due to his constant pessimism. He used a special technique called “The Magic Foot”. The technique involved him spelling the word out with his foot on the floor, “seeing” the word after it's been written. Despite his attitude, this was what led him to a dark horse victory.

Marcy Park was a lovable character, who was an overachiever who speaks six languages and excels at everything she does. 

The last of the children, Olive Ostrovsky, simply loves spelling. Her parents are absent and her only “friend” was her dictionary, which she read front to back. 

The jokes were very on the nose, and I adored the fact that they were funny enough for adults to laugh at, but not inappropriate enough to make it awkward considering that the cast was portraying middle school students. 

The intimacy of the theater was perfect for this musical in particular as it lended itself well to including the audience members in the Spelling Bee. However, it felt as though the show was cramped, especially during the “Magic Foot” sequence, where all of the back and forth felt too close to me in the front row. 

The songs were both absolutely comical and heart-wrenching at the same time. There were moments during the show where I was almost brought to tears. Despite the many ups and downs and unpredictable moments in the show, it brought forth a very satisfying ending. This was an absolutely wonderful show to debut the Shoebox Theater.