LKSPELLINGBEE

Pros and Cons of the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Pros: 1. Lighting: During the entire performance, I had no trouble in seeing the actors. Therefore, the most basic aspect of lighting was fulfilled. In addition, however, the lighting contributed ambience and dramatic highlights with the use of color and intensity, as well as well-coordinated spotlights and flashes. I felt like the use of blues and dimmer lights during a flashback or during a sad scene added a lot to the production, and when the trophy flashed and the spotlight fell on Ms. Peretti, the lighting definitely caught my attention in a positive way. Also, in the “Life is Pandemonium” scene, the rapidly changing colors on the back light screen added to the chaos well. 2. Set: I felt like the set served its purpose well. One could definitely tell that the play was supposed to take place in a gymnasium; the basketball hoop, the bleachers, the curtained comforting area, and the podium all suited the idea of a gym. I liked the addition of the cartoon bees everywhere. It made the set feel like a real overdone, slightly tacky gym. The sign for the spelling bee as well as the optometrist sponsor looked professional, and the trophy was suitably ostentatious. I felt that if it had been any more ornate or any more bare it would have detracted from the production. 3. Costumes: The costumes were very appropriate for those of elementary and middle school students. They were overdone and stereotypical, but I feel that meshed well with the overzealous tone of the musical. I feel, though, that Ms. Peretti’s and the Vice Principal’s costumes were realistic enough that I could’ve mistaken their clothes and hairstyles for those of actual teachers. The upbeat mood of the play was also reflected in the bright colors and patterns of the characters’ costumes, and the costumes clearly represented the stereotypes of the characters, which made the characters even more memorable. I also enjoyed the use of shiny metallic accents in the costumes to catch the audience’s eye; Olive had a metal locket, and others too had jewelry and pins. 4. On-Stage Band: The musicians did a fine job keeping the performance of the actors upbeat and tight. At no point did I hear any mistake or any unmusical playing that would take away from the production. They were on time with their cues and worked well with the singers. I particularly liked the notion of the band being a middle school woodwind band, with flute, clarinet, sax, piano, and drums. They were professional and didn’t try to outshine the singers, but to rather accompany them. 5. Directing: The director did a good job casting the characters and pacing the production. The characters were very believable in their roles, although at times I didn’t agree with a lot of the interpretations. The actress playing Ms. Perretti, and the actors playing Mitch and the Vice Principal were perfect in their appearance with the characters, especially Mitch. He had a great, intimidating glare that added an element of irony to his character. I was engaged throughout the entire performance. I never looked at my watch, or wondered when the performance would be over. It went speedily by.

Cons: 1. Projection: I felt the majority of the actors did a good job, but sometimes I couldn’t hear their lines. This pertains especially to the actor who played Mitch; I could barely hear him, if at all. Certain actors and actresses delivered solid and clear lines, but others I had to keep an ear out for. The singing was harder to hear for most characters, but again, the actor I had the hardest time understanding was Mitch. I felt this snapped me out of getting involved in the play, and actually annoyed me. 2. Musical score: The musicians did a good job interpreting the music, as did the actors and actresses. But I feel that the actual quality of the pieces, as well as the written interplay between the music and the voice was not very good. The songs were not memorable at all and sometimes didn’t seem to clearly correlate as to what was happening in the play at the time of the song. For example, “Life is Pandemonium” broke out, and I had no idea why. The music was overall very bland, and didn’t have a lot of room for creative interpretation. 3. Singing: I understand that not all actors and actresses are classically trained singers, so I didn’t expect too much from them in the production. A few actors and actresses did a really good job staying on pitch and singing with feeling, such as Ms. Peretti and William Barfee. Their performances were very memorable. At times, however, listening to the songs were painful, especially during the harmonizing between Olive’s mother and father. I had no idea what it was supposed to sound like, but I don’t think what happened in the performance was written on the score. These cringeworthy moments definitely detracted from my experience. 4. Random audience members: At first, I thought bringing up random audience members was a good way to engage the audience. After sitting through the guest bee participants fumble, bluster, and mutter into the microphone, I changed my mind. It seemed like the inclusion of non-actors was just novel for the sake of being novel; it didn’t add any meaning to the play. It was also confusing, because I couldn’t understand what they were saying or the significance of them being onstage. I feel the production would’ve been better without the guest bee participants, and most likely more concise. 5. The text: I feel like so much there could have been so much more development of the characters and the relationship between the characters to make the play more poignant and meaningful. Instead, the majority of the dialogue seemed to be gags and slapstick humor, rather than memorable interactions or meanings. I feel that they text should have focused more on the students and less on the adults and the audience bee participants. The characters themselves were interesting, but not particularly strong. I understand that this play was a comedy, but I would’ve liked to see more thought put into the dialogue and the text in general. I also felt the ending was rather weak, and not very well-thought out. It seemed to just collapse after the two hours, and then the epilogue started.