Don’t sell it, spell it. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Citadel, a review

In the age of auto-correct, when the distinction between ‘their’ and ‘they’re’ has vanished into the mists of time — consider the kids in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, whose claims on glory depend on spelling omphalokepsis or boanthropy perfectly,  out loud, first time.

To help support .ca YEG theatre coverage, click here.

I know, right? Seeing those words written out is enough to exacerbate your s-t-r-a-b-i-s-m-u-s.

““We hear the word. We breathe. We Wait. Unlike idiots we ideate….” In the opening number of the summer musical at the Citadel, directed by Mieko Ouchi, we meet six junior high nerds, misfits each in their own individual way and played by an all-star team of Edmonton actors. The endearing, much-produced musical comedy by William Finn of Falsettos fame (music) and Rachel Sheinkin (book), a 2005 Tony Award winner, takes us into their pressurized high-stakes habitat, from which a winner will emerge and go to the nationals in Washington DC, the shangri-la of spellers.

Meanwhile, it’s a return to the quintessential school gym of our youth. And in Ouchi’s production, Patrick Rizzotti’s design, with its snazzy scoreboard and notices and team banners (Go Penguins) seems a little clean, a little sweat-free (hey, some memories do not fade with time).

Anyhow, in a series of amusing introductions by the Bee’s nine-time host and Putnam County’s leading realtor, the stratospherically vivacious Rona Lisa Peretti (Jill Agopsowicz), a former Bee champion herself, we meet the finalists. They include four game pre-selected participants from the audience. One of them turned out to be a spelling virtuoso who couldn’t be stumped (Mrs. Peretti had to improvise). And one of them, on opening night, was the amiable nerd Andy, who happens to be the mayor of Edmonton.

The word that sent Mayor Knack off the stage and back to the house seats, incidentally is that perennial corker zhuzh — “to make sparkle” as defined on request by the official Word Pronouncer, vice-principal Mr. Panch (Cody Porter). Also on request, Mr. Panch, an expert in the art of unhelpful sentence cues, uses zhuzh in a sentence that includes “the pothole situation.” Which made the mayor smile and the audience scream with laughter.

Christina Nguyen and Farren Timoteo, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Citadel Theatre. Photo by Nanc Price.

There’s the adenoidal, unfortunately named William Barfée (Farren Timoteo), who keeps reminding everyone wearily, and without success, that they’re mis-pronouncing his name; people, there’s an accent aigu at the end. His unusual specialty is to spell out words with his “magic foot” before saying them out loud. And he gets a song-and-dance number that Timoteo knocks out of the gym.

Olive Ostrovsky (Christina Nguyen), who doesn’t have the $25 entrance fee, is the lonely, neglected girl — her father is at work; her mom’s on a nine-month spiritual quest in an ashram— who can’t quite believe she’s with people, and made it to the finals. Olive’s best, and only, friend is the dictionary, as she reveals in song.

Logainne Schwarzandgrubenniere (Rain Matkin), terrorized by extreme pressure from her two dads to win (America much prefers winners, did you know?), is the bright, earnest kid with the activist gene, who started a gay-straight alliance in her elementary school. She’s going to tackle bike lanes next, you’ll be gratified to hear if you’re a cyclist.

Michael Watt in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Citadel Theatre. Photo by Nanc Price.

Michael Watt is Leaf Coneybear, the blithely eccentric home-schooled kid (his siblings have names like Marigold and Pinecone), who has never been in a school gym before and makes his own clothes. Watt arrives, like a cross between Superman and Peter Pan, in a cape. He’s so habituated to being the designated family dimbulb (I’m Not That Smart) that he can only spell when he’s in a trance.

Chip (Mark Sinongco), last year’s champion, is the kid whose spelling prowess is fatally distracted by, well, life, and a new crush in the audience. “My unfortunate erection is destroying my perfection,” he sings.” Sinongco, who like his cast-mates has blue-chip comic cred, has another role (the fun of discovery can be yours) , a walk-on cameo that pretty much stops the show; believe it, you didn’t see Him coming.

Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks (centre), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Citadel Theatre. Photo by Nanc Price.

And the super-overachiever Marcy Parks, a grim over-achiever whose job, and burden, is to a winner — at everything from tennis to gymnastics, fencing to dance, hockey to music — is played, with deadpan focus and without breaking a sweat, by Cynthia  Jimenez-Hicks. Her number I Speak Six Languages, accompanied by the non-stop series of props provided by the cast, is staged by Ouchi with ingenious hyper-activity, and it’s  one of the highlight scenes of the evening.

Ouchi’s cast of nine, set in motion by Ainsley Hillyard’s expert choreography and Janice Flower’s band and musical direction (she’s a great piano player), is first-rate. And Deanna Finnman’s costumes are inspired: Leaf Coneybear’s costume is his personality. But, at least on opening night and especially in Act I, the particular charms of this charmer of a show — its delicate, oddball combination of hilarity and heart-warming in its portraiture of hopeful pubescence — tended to get lost in over-amplified, hard-sell comedy. The production comes on pretty strong for the material. Especially since the sound mix makes it hard to hear the lyrics. I must add that this is a minority view, judging by the rapturous reaction and ovation of Thursday’s crowd.

What gives the show its zhuzh (there, it’s in a sentence) is the sweet sense of discovery when nerdy misfits, the social underdogs of the junior high world, come into their own, make a friend, resist parental programming, reveal modest but momentous dreams. It seems brassier, and less appealing to see adult actors kids who are all already class clowns, and apparently showbiz-seasoned, strut their comic stuff. Partly, of course, it’s that show occupies a vast stage, and the production determinedly sets about filling it.

It makes you appreciate the small-scale comic gestures of Sheldon Elter as the glaring, leather-clad, hard-ass “comfort councillor” who’s doing his community service at the Bee by giving the losers a juice box as they exit. His song Prayer of The Comfort Counselor, has advice for the losers: “pretend like it’s no big deal.”

Having laid out some reservations, I have to add that the talent on display is impressive, and Act II seems to settle into a weight that feels less forced, and funnier. There’s a word for that balance, as I learned. And Rona Lisa Peretti had to spell it on her transcendent rise to the third annual Putnam County Spelling Bee championship: s-y-z-y-g-y. when the earth aligns with the sun. Use it (in a sentence) or lose it.

REVIEW

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Theatre: Citadel Theatre

Created by: William Finn (music and lyrics) and Rachel Sheinken (book)

Directed by: Mieko Ouchi

Starring: Jill Agopsowicz, Sheldon Elter, Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks, Rain Matkin, Christina Nguyen, Cody Porter, Mark Sinongco, Farren Timoteo, Michael Watt

Running: through Aug. 2

Tickets: 780-425-1820, citadeltheatre.com