25th+Annual+Putnam+County+Spelling+Bee+Paper

The Pros and Cons of //The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee// Will Guerin

**Pros Section** 1. As a more presentational work, the play often catered to the audience by actively involving them in the production. Few plays allow for audience members to participate on-stage, as the play did through the guest spellers drawn randomly from the audience at-large. By providing such a unique audience experience, the playwright allows the audience to connect with the play on a deeper level, feeling as though they are an equal part in the production of the play. For example, when Chip Tolentino began angrily pelting the audience with the candy, I felt like I was important, that I mattered as an audience member. If nothing else, these appeals to the audience keep the play fresh, presenting a unique take on theater that keeps the audience on their toes. 2. Musicals, as their name would indicate, are obviously very dependent on their music. In this particular production, I felt that the music really excelled, providing the catchy refrains and choruses that every musical should. Well after the play was over, I had the “Goodbye” song stuck in my head and was fairly desperate to hear it sung again. While it may not have been a groundbreaking musical endeavor, the soundtrack functioned very well in the context of the play, illuminating the back-stories of the characters while entertaining the audience with contagious melodies. 3. //The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee// offered the audience a cast of memorable characters that really brought up the personality of the play. While most of the characters are derived from cookie-cutter archetypes, they still managed to emerge, as colorful, distinct personalities that made me want to watch the play. The effeminate Leaf Coneybear has been seen many times before, but the actor and script elevate him well above mediocrity. My favorite character, most likely a universal audience favorite as well, was Mitch Mahoney the comfort counselor. The actor conveyed his personality perfectly, selling his character with simple things like his rapidly changing emotion as he changed his subject of thought. 4. Although the play consistently maintained its humor, some of the biggest laughs came during the speller’s requests for definitions and sentences. For example, when the word was strabismus, the sentence dealt with a poor boy telling bullies he had strabismus and was not cock-eyed only resulting in an intensified beating. When capybara was the word, the judges had another humorous sentence, essentially converting the definition into sentence form. I found myself anticipating these definitions and sentence examples, bright moments in the show. 5. //The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee// allows for a large amount of flexibility when it comes to its production. While the play may have been written several years ago, it can still remain culturally and politically relevant through topical humor interjected into the play. A good play often connects with something happening in the news and with the Sarah Palin bashing, the production establishes this connection with current reality. It was also refreshing to see the ad-libs, improvisations and unscripted moments in the play. For example, when one of the guest spellers slowly made their way up to the stage, the actors criticized them for their sloth-like progress. By adding these improvisations, the audience realizes the unique work that is unfolding before them.

**Cons Section**

1. While the play was a very entertaining diversion, it really lacked the depth of a truly great performance. Yes, it kept the audience’s attention, but carried no message or deeper meaning. There were a couple of themes in the novel, but nothing that hasn’t been relentlessly covered by every amateur play in history. Being pushed to succeed at everything and the perfectionist lifestyle is nothing new and the lack of that message that the art attempts to convey really shows. Without a central theme that actually mattered, the play really just functioned as a cheap attempt to make a humorous spelling bee skit more than it actually is. Sure, “emotional” back-stories are added, but most of them function as cliché excuses to lengthen the play by giving mundane characteristics to the individuals of the play. 2. While I thoroughly enjoyed the musical stylizations in the play, not all of the actors possessed the skill sets necessary to properly express the vocals. The actor that played Mitch Mahoney really felt out of place in the cast, as his singing was well below that of his fellow cast mates. Unfortunately this deficit in talent was quite obvious to the audience, as his character had many important singing parts of considerable difficulty. While I still enjoyed the music of the show as a whole, this flaw in singing detracted from the overall greatness of the vocalizations. 3. Again, while I enjoyed the musical aspects of the play, several things detracted from its perfection. Often times, I found the lyrics of the songs to be muddled, consequently blurring the meaning of some of the scenes. Perhaps my ears were to blame, but I often found myself wondering what was just sung. Another issue I had with understanding the play came with the volume of Chip Tolentino. Amidst his cast mates, the actor playing Chip was often lost in the shuffle as he was unable or unwillingly to project the songs at the proper volume. Perhaps this lack of volume resulted from the actor’s understudy role, leaving me to question what we lost when the main actor was announced absent from the play. 4. At times, I found my attention lacking during the production. While the play was only about two hours long, I still felt like the one act play should have been interrupted by an intermission. The play’s action is fairly repetitive and an intermission would have functioned nicely, providing a break for the audience to refresh their mind. While the play was certainly bearable at in its current state, I feel that a break in the action would have been an advantageous decision by the director. 5. As mentioned before, the play is a fairly repetitive piece. To the playwright’s credit, the source material constrains the author somewhat, almost forcing him to be repetitive. Sometimes fast forwarded or slow-motion scenes are presented to break up these echoes, but its hard to get around the fact that the play is based on a boring event where the same basic thing happens over and over again. This repetitive nature certainly does not lend itself to a play of its originality and while much is done to overcome this crucial flaw, nothing can really be done to escape the spelling bee structure the play must adhere to.