Okay, so a friend of mine hooked me up to see the final dress rehearsal of the Arizona Onstage production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – opening tonight at the Temple of Music and Art (330 S. Scott Ave.) – and I gladly accepted. I hadn’t seen it and I thought it would be a great chance to see a nice little show featuring local talent, and then I would leave having seen a pleasant performance.
I was wrong.
By the time the first act of this musical was over, I was in stitches. I was laughing so hard that I could barely draw breath, and I rapidly depleted my supply of Circle K napkins that had become soaked in the tears of my hysteria.
Basically, the show centers around the 25th annual Putnam County spelling bee (duh), and it showcases not only the verbal prowess of the “children” who’ve made it this far in the competition, but it also gives a little back story on each kid, focusing on their individual personalities and insecurities, as well as the challenges that they have each had to overcome to get to where they are.
The entire ensemble gelled perfectly to bring proper breadth and depth to each character, but a few performances really caught me off guard – particularly, Steve McKee’s portrayal of Vice Principal Doug Panch, a former judge being allowed to return after a long hiatus due to a health issue of a very personal nature. His delivery of the keenly written and thinly veiled one-liners is sublime, and his ability to deliver the occasional bit of improvisation is seamless.
On par with Steve’s performance is that of Jacinda Rose Swinehart, playing the part of Rona Perretti, spelling bee judge, former winner, and the most successful realtor in Putnam County! With absolutely flawless theatricality she delivers the comedy, wrapping it in a soft blanket of compassion. She also happens to have a ridiculously enviable singing voice that left me in misty-eyed awe, and mystified as to why the hell she isn’t on Broadway!
When you go, make sure you bone up on your spelling because this extravaganza randomly chooses members of the audience to participate in the spelling bee, so you might actually be making your musical theater debut, just by showing up! Take heart, though, because if you have misspelled a word, recently-paroled comfort counselor Mitch Mahoney (portrayed hilariously by Walter Belcher) will be on hand with a juice box to see you through your most deeply disappointing moment of abject failure.
The rest of the characters are incredibly endearing and cute as buttons (although I thought Leaf Coneybear was exceptionally adorable, I’m sure you’ll leave having your own favorite) and the entire cast of actors, under the direction of Rob Russo, Jr., absolutely knocks this one out of the ballpark. If you miss this, you will kick yourself later.
Although tonight’s showing is a preview, the show’s regular schedule runs from 8/13 through 8/29. Tickets are $32.50 for general admission and $27.50 for students and seniors. Group rates are available. For more information, please visit www.arizonaonstage.org, and thank you for supporting the arts!
A hilarious and heart-warming play by some of Tucson’s most talented actors! A must see!
Dangit, Katie! You never let me in on these things!
Well, I’m certainly going to go if I get the chance. They’d probably come to me and I’d misspell something like “tomorrow” or “coincidence” and have to get a comfort juice box.