Musical theater is an art form that rarely comes with a trigger warning. One wouldn’t think that a show as innocuous as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee would need an alert that the show’s subject matter may cause distressing psychological or physiological reactions, especially in people who have previously experienced a related trauma, but then how could the artists behind the Novato Theater Company’s production, now running through Oct. 11, know of this writer’s disastrous performance in 1974 at the Antilles Middle School/San Juan Star Spelling Bee?
After being crowned Mrs. Plyler’s 6th grade classroom champion, I vigorously studied the word book and felt I was prepared to go all the way at the schoolwide competition. I joined my classmates in the cafeteria on a humid May day and took my seat. My name was called. I trotted to the microphone, was given my word, vociferously repeated it, spelled it and repeated it again: “Carrot. C-A-R-R-O-T. Carrot.” I turned triumphantly to the judge’s table, only to watch in horror as she reached for the bell. DING. And I was done.
I had not asked for a definition. I did not ask for it to be used in a sentence. Had I done so, I would have known the word I was assigned was carat, a unit of weight for precious stones. My years of watching Bugs Bunny cartoons had betrayed me. Life as I knew it was over. I would never compete in a Spelling Bee again.
Damned homophones.
…Spelling Bee is the tale of a group of youngsters competing in the title event. The show’s hook is that the kids are all played by adults (Dominic Marco Canty, Carly Harrington, Paul Hogarth, Marlee Ostrom, Emily Rutledge and Nicole Stanley). The Bee is overseen by Putnam County’s most successful realtor (Daniela Innocenti-Beem), a troubled Vice Principal (Pat Barr) and an ex-con doing his community service as a comfort counselor (Nicholas Augusta).
Director Larry Williams seems to have taken the “bigger and louder is funnier” approach, but it often isn’t, especially in a smaller space. The humor is in the book (Rachel Sheinkin) and songs (William Finn). Deliver them well, and you’ve got a show.
The always-dependable Beem, Stanley and especially Rutledge get it. By all means, accent the characters, but don’t overplay them. If you do, the characters (and the show) lose some of their innate sweetness.
The word is “moderation.”
‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ runs through Oct. 11 at the Novato Theater Company, 5420 Nave Dr., Ste. C, Novato. Fri & Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm., $27–$39. 415.883.4498. novatotheatercompany.org.
