Back in February 2005 I was in New York City to see some shows, and at the last moment (on a Saturday afternoon) I was offered the chance to see a new off-Broadway show I hadn’t heard of, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I was totally charmed by the tale of adolescents (played by young adult actors) competing in a spelling contest, and I told acquaintances afterwards that it would surely become a staple of universities and community theaters. I didn’t know how right I was.
By April, Spelling Bee had transferred to Broadway; it subsequently won a boatload of awards including two Tonys. The Broadway run lasted for more than three years, and there was a national tour in 2006 and 2007, which included a stop in Cincinnati. I’ve seen it a half-dozen times and, even though I know the characters and the story line, it repeatedly wins me over.
That’s true of the production currently offered by the Commonwealth Theatre Company at Northern Kentucky University’s Stauss Theatre, where Spelling Bee is being presented as the second of two summer dinner theater shows. Directed by Roderick Justice, it’s done with an intermission (not always the case). That’s a bit disruptive of the story’s momentum, but it comes at a logical moment, and it’s probably when audience members who’ve eaten a meal two hours earlier need a break.
Spelling Bee works because Rachel Sheinkin’s script has created a half-dozen youngsters who are quirky and intense, some nervous and others cocky.
Read the full review here.
THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, presented by Commonwealth Theatre Company at Northern Kentucky University, continues through July 26.
