Boston Spelling Bee a Delight

Saw the Boston cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on Friday night, and I'm happy to report that this cast is every bit as satisfying as the one in New York.

This is a show that just gets richer and richer for me every time I see it or listen to the CD. This time I went with my friend Ken Golner, who is a huge fan of William Finn's other shows, but he doesn't think Spelling Bee is in the same league as Falsettos or even A New Brain. I am going to have to respectfully disagree with him.

It makes perfect sense that Falsettos and A New Brain would be very moving shows: they're both about death, among other life events. Of course, that in itself doesn't make a show deep or rich. But it's that much more of an accomplishment to take a seemingly mundane subject like a spelling bee and make it emotionally resonant.

A number of things make Spelling Bee worthy of multiple viewings, not least of which is the audience-participation element, and the different words and situations that arise thereof. The cast seemed to be improvising lines based on the audience members at this particular show, referring to the clothes they were wearing and their hairstyles, etc. And the lines were priceless. I'm not sure if the actors playing Miss Peretti and Vice Principal Panch were doing this on their own, or whether there's someone backstage to help, but kudos to whomever is responsible.

The cast is uniformly excellent. Of particular note in this production were the actors playing Leaf Coneybear and Olive Ostrovsky: Stanley Bahorek and Jenni Barber, respectively. The other actors, while quite good, seemed to rely a bit too heavily on the original-cast portrayals, whereas Bahorek and Barber really made the parts their own.

Bahorek is hysterical and very touching as Coneybear, and brings a decidedly mannered but nonetheless endearing countenance to the Coneybear character. And Barber as Olive will just break your frigging heart. Her soulful eyes and downcast demeanor were simply heart-rending, which made her eventual blossoming all the more triumphant.

I can't recommend Spelling Bee highly enough. Go see it. Multiple times. And bring me with you.

Just a side note: I saw a lot of kids in the audience this time, something I really don't recall the previous times I've seen the show. This makes sense given the subject matter. But things get a bit racy over the course of the evening, in particular during the showstopper "My Unfortunate Erection." I was worried that these seemingly unsuspecting parents might be in for more than they had bargained for, but everyone seemed to take it in stride. It will be interesting to see what happens when the show plays some less permissive venues.

Comments

[Steve On Broadway (SOB)]

Glad to hear the Boston production is as good as on Broadway. I absolutely loved Chicago's sitdown production. Maybe you'll have to visit Chicago and take in some of the great shows there and wedge in their version of "Spelling Bee" too.