Spelling Bee is based on an original improvisation play, C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, which had its first workshop performance in February 2004.  It became the little play that could by making it big.  It opened off-Broadway in January 2005 and moved to Broadway three months later—snagging two Tony Awards in the process.  If theater goers have seen four versions of “Bee” in the past year, it’s because the rights have just became available.  Small theaters all across the nation are celebrating because this play spells success for theaters with a small budget: virtually no set, no fancy costumes and you can play all the music with just a piano.

Spelling Bee is the musical telling of a fictional spelling bee filled with all the typical characters one might imagine.  The kids were bright, talented, super-ambitious and have so much emotional baggage to keep Putnam County shrinks busy for years.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, now playing at The Box Theatre in downtown Mt. Clemens, is delightfully quirky.  This
production did the show justice.  There was energy to spare.  The group numbers sounded fantastic and the laughs were plenty.  With that being said, there was definitely room for improvement, particularly with respect to volume and projection.  Many of the jokes fell flat because of lack of volume.  It’s a shame because this particular cast is so funny.

Individual voices ranged from fair to Broadway quality.  Most noteworthy were Ashlee Armstrong as Rona and John Forlini as Barfee, who blew the roof off.  Bridget Leary as Olive and Dez Walker as Mitch, along with Armstrong, shone in their trio and the song was the climax of the show.  Other standouts included Cat Dacpano Menzies as Marcy and Brian K. Welch as Leaf.

While the pacing in the beginning of the show was snappy, it noticeably lagged, as the story progressed.  This may have been due to
the audience members that were picked to participate in the bee (oh yes, there’s improv!).  When dealing with laypeople, it’s always the luck of the draw.  One minor thing that may have gone unnoticed to the untrained eye: the microphone on stage that the kids spoke into was actually a blow-up fake microphone.  Yet, all the actors spoke into it like the real thing and decreasing their volume in the process!

A word must be said about the hard-working “pit” consisting of Jennifer Gale on the piano.  Her job was perhaps the hardest of all,
and she sounded fantastic: great tempos, sufficient volume and a full band sound.

Overall, this was a fun show and, for a professional theater in its conceptual year, it was a valiant effort.

Author: Yana Levovna