Ok, so here’s the skinny: I’m going to carp a bit about North Coast Rep’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, because I think that I need to do that to be an honest critic. Let me give you the bottom line up front, though: this is a really funny show, you’re going to like it a lot, and you should buy your tickets for it now because the run is already heavily sold.

Now for the carping. First, Spelling Bee, for all its charms, is not a great musical. It is composed by a fine musician named William Finn, who you may know from his Elegies: A Song Cycle, which was performed at Lincoln Center, or his three-part musical, Falsettoland, or his musical, A New Brain, all of which were greatly admired and very well written but none of which are that much performed. Spelling Bee’s best song is called “The I Love You Song,” which is not an encouraging title for the best song in the show (it is, however, a lovely song). The songs fit the plot well, though, and the best thing about Spelling Bee as a show may be that it will expose the many people who will see it to William Finn’s music.

Second, Spelling Bee is heavily character driven. The plot is pretty simple: a group of young people and a few adults gather onstage to put on a regional spelling bee that will send its champion to the national spelling bee, which is held annually in Washington, DC. The characters are all middle school archetypes, but they have back stories that come out during the course of the play and make them more interesting. If played only for the archetypes, though, the show falls flat. So, casting is really important, and having the cast deliver layered performances is equally important.

Director Rick Simas has compiled an excellent cast, and that cast mostly delivers the goods. There can be some improvements, however, and I suspect that many of these may well happen as the cast continues to perform the show.

L to R: Jacob Caltrider, Sarah Errington and Brandon

Joel Maier as Logainne Schwarzandgrubenierre

and her gay dads

Photo by Aaron Rumley

The top performer on opening night was Jacob Caltrider as Leaf Coneybear. Mr. Caltrider is perhaps the fastest rising young performer in the area; he’s coming off a fine performance as Anthony in Cygnet’s Sweeney Todd, and he gives an equally fine performance here. Not only does he sing well, he imbues Leaf with a goofy charm that is hard to resist. And, Mr. Caltrider and Brandon Joel Maier, who plays Chip, double as Logainne Schwarzandgrubenierre’s gay dads, and they both make for very credible adult performers. In fact, I’d rate Mr. Maier’s adult as better than his middle schooler, though he does nail Chip’s big number at the top of Act 2. Sarah Errington has Lagainne’s moves down, too, and her scenes with her dads are among the best in the show.

The star of the show, however, should be Omri Schein, who plays William Barfee. Mr. Schein is a talented physical comedian, and I thought that he brought out the sensitive side of his character well. But, vocally he didn’t show a lot of variability, and he threatened to pin his character on a tiresome single joke. Because Mr. Schein is physically talented, however, perhaps he will loosen up as the run progresses.

As Olive Ostrovsky, Nicole Warner seemed a bit too bland, particularly compared against the other characters. She does get “The I Love You” song to sing, though, and she sang it beautifully. Cashae Monya, as Marcy Parks, has less to do than the others, but she made a solid contribution, both as a singer and as an actor.

Ditto for the performers playing the adult characters. As Vice Principal Douglas Panch, the man who pronounces the spelling words, Phil Johnson needed to be nimble, quick witted, ready to ad-lib, and able to keep the show moving. Mr. Johnson did all of the above admirably. Melinda Gilb displayed a lovely soprano voice as Rosa Lisa Peretti, and if she was not as over-the-top as this character might get perhaps that’s a virtue. As comfort counselor Mitch Mahoney, Robert Barry Fleming gave a sly performance that could actually be a bit bigger than he made it.

Music director Steven Withers led a three piece band that sometimes overpowered the singers (perhaps Chris Luessmann can make some adjustments in his sound design). Marty Burnett and Mike Buckley did good journeyman work on the set and lighting, but Peter Herman’s costume, hair, and wig design provided many of the shows best giggles. Dave Massey’s choreography was serviceable for the limited stage space and the size of the cast.

Finally, three spellers from the audience are selected for each performance. The opening night spellers all got into the spirit of things quickly, and each managed to get off a few jokes, though a couple of those may have been inadvertent.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’s run was extended to August 3 even before the show opened. Look for additional extensions if you find tickets difficult to obtain. A word of warning, though: even though the show is about middle school students it is definitely rated PG-13.

DOWNLOAD PROGRAM HERE