HJLSpelling+Bee

__The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee__ Positive: 1) One of the greatest strengths of //Spelling Bee// was it's humor. It had a natural sense of humor to it that kept the jokes from feeling forced. The definitions of words and use in a sentence always led to hilarious results. The character Leaf drew many laughs by his randomness and child-like actions. Most characters, in fact, were able to draw many laughs. Some of this is due to the script, and some to the actor's specific performance. Overall, it is undeniable that most audience members left the play smiling from the comedy contained within.   2) Another substantial positive aspect of //Spelling Bee// was its catchy, toe-tapping music. The songs “Life is Pandemonium” and “The Magic Foot” in particular made quite an impression for the bigness of their sound and classiness. The music occasionally felt like a throwback to early twentieth century music, but it was always used to good effect. This strength was added indefinitely by the actor's voices, which played the perfect balance between singing and using their character's voices. This is not an easy task, seeing as many characters had eccentric voices. The music, always a crucial aspect of a musical, was well written and performed in //Spelling Bee//. 3) The play's great variety in character type and stereotype only added to the list of strengths. With characters ranging from the delightfully random and ditzy Leaf to the extremely nerdy Baffey, the play remained interesting no matter which character they moved to. The play contained a sarcastic vice-principal in love with the host, a delinquent on parole as the “comfort counselor,” and a transfer student who knows six languages after skipping two grades. Most every character is fascinating and included nicely within the production. This character variety is integral to any piece, and //Spelling Bee// fulfills this well.   4) For a play taking place entirely within a spelling bee, the play had a surprising amount of depth – a substantial positive trait. The back stories of all the character did an excellent job in developing the story and in making the audience care for the characters. Learning of their past endears the characters, such as the girl with two gay fathers or the girl whose mother is on an Indian religious quest. The play even reveals motivations for winning, such as pleasing parents or proving one's intelligence. This depth was unexpected and proved to be brilliant in execution. 5) Perhaps what was most important in making //Spelling Bee// great was the actors comprising the backbone of it. The acting was top-notch, as each actor convincingly portrayed the wild or eccentric part written for them. The actors had a marvelous ability to continue to act, even when the spotlight was not on them. It adds a remarkable amount of realism to the production to have a group of actors performing so convincingly – both during their moment in the spotlight and while they are simply on stage.    Negative:   1) Unfortunately, //Spelling Bee'// s setting of the spelling bee became repetitive and uninteresting towards the end. While hilarious and refreshingly new in the beginning of the play, the act of simply spelling words after words began to grow stale and repetitive. Towards the end, the monotony began to grow slightly boring and tiring. However, this monotony is saved in the fact that this type of setting has almost never been done before, giving it some breathing room of fresh air. This newness is simply not enough to save the ultimately mundane setting. 2) A minor negative aspect was that the audience members chosen to join the cast in stage felt and appeared to be planted. While this does not detract necessarily from the enjoyment of the play, it is disappointing and ruins some of the illusion when the “randomness” feels planned. The people chosen were good for the most part, although some of the quips the audience members used were distracting and poorly executed. The audience members, although possibly a good idea, tended to be a large weakness in the play's execution.  3) Occasionally, the story felt disjointed in its structure. While the flashbacks and character development are in and of themselves a good idea, their placement within the story and the way they were emplemented left the audience feeling slightly confused and distant from the main story they were trying to follow. These flashbacks caused the audience to feel more withdrawn, and it left the main story as not quite as cohesive a whole as it might otherwise have been with good implementation of flashbacks. 4) //Spelling Bee// also had an odd manner of mixing dark humor with a light, happy story. Leaf's mentioning of how he “wasn't smart” and his parents agreeing with that statement was sad and more depressing than the comical mood it was intending to engender. In a similar fashion, one girl asks merely for one of her homosexual fathers to give her a hug and love her, but they never do. These and many other instances are actually placed for comic effect, many times unsuccessfully. In this instance, the play did fall short in its humor.   5) Finally, the play seemed to be a little long. Some short sections of the play felt unnecessary, and, by the end, the audience feels like it should have ended earlier. Part of this is due to its lack of intermission. Without any break, the play seems to drag on longer than it may actually be. A well-positioned intermission may have eliminated this problem altogether, but, without one, the play did indeed feel a bit too long.