The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at CPT

Last night I had so much fun at CPT's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I really love this show because, not only is it absolutely hilarious, it is unexpectedly poignant (I have seen the Broadway touring company and a fabulous production at PTC several years ago) and CPT did a great job with it. The spelling bee is moderated by Rona Lisa Peretti (Alexandra Rae Kalaher), the best realtor in Putnam County and a past spelling champion who frequently reflects on her experience ("My Favorite Moment of the Bee"). She is aided by Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Brandon Green) who is returning after a five year absence due to an unspecified incident. His main function is to give the definitions of the words and use them in highly amusing sentences ("The Spelling Rules"). Mindy Mahoney (Katelyn Johnson), an ex-con doing her required community service, hands out juice boxes to the losing contestants ("The Prayer of the Comfort Counselor"). The first contestant is Chip Tolentino (Jake Heywood), a baseball player defending his title as champion of the bee last year who spends most of his time flirting with a girl in the audience ("My Unfortunate Distraction"). The second contestant is Logainne SchwartzandGrubenniere (Savanna Hansen), the president of the gay/straight alliance in her elementary school who wants desperately to please her two fathers who have been coaching her for this moment for years ("Woe is Me"). The third contestant is Leaf Coneybear (Trevor Hansen), a home-schooled free spirit who makes his own clothes and is at the bee because the winner and first runner-up had to attend a bat mizvah ("I'm Not That Smart"). The fourth contestant is William Barfee (Aaron Linford), an uptight asthmatic who had to pull out of last year's bee because of an allergic reaction. He frequently has to remind the moderators how to pronounce his name (it's Bar-FAY) and uses an innovative method to help him spell ("Magic Foot"). The fifth contestant is Marcy Park (Emily Woods), a transfer student at Our Lady of Intermittent Sorrows Parochial School who placed ninth at last year's national spelling bee.  She is an overachiever who skipped two grades ("I Speak Six Languages") but now just wants to have a little fun. The sixth contestant is Olive Ostrovsky (Taneesa Wright), who hasn't yet paid the entrance fee because her mother is at an ashram in India and her father has not claimed the seat that she has been saving for him ("The I Love You Song").  Which of these six painfully awkward misfits will be crowned the winner? I really loved everything about this show: the cast, the set, the costumes, the choreography, and the random audience members who participated in the bee (they were responsible for many of the funniest moments). Several of the people around me said that they didn't know anything about this show before they came but they ended up loving it! I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) to this delightful show.