Review: THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BE at Paramount Theatre

I L-O-V-E you. Three simple words that can change a life. The newest production at the Copley Theatre in Aurora is The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. It’s the story of “12” year olds competing in a spelling bee. Under the direction of Jeff Award-winning Stephen Schellhardt and a set designed by Lauren M. Nichols showcasing a gymnasium, this group of actors brings forth the anxieties, awkwardness, innocence, doubt, fear and ultimately joy of this age group.

The audience is a part of the competition. Upon arriving, you are able to sign up to be a guest speller. If selected, you will be on stage almost to the end of Act One. The 4 spellers last night were excellent!! On a personal note, I knew 2 of them. Once the show begins, we are greeted by the hostess of the competition, Rona Lisa Perretti, a former champion (Jeff Award-winning Veronica Garza) and Vice Principal Parch (Jason Richards in his Copley debut). The other adult is the maintenance man Mitch Mahoney (Naptali Curry in his Paramount/Copley debut).

The spellers are Coneybear (Ben Broughton in his Paramount/Copley debut), Chip Tolentino (Jeff Award-winning Nic Dantes), Logainne Schwartz-andgrubenniere (Ann Delaney), William Barfee and his magical foot (Teddy Gales in his Paramout/Copley debut and what a debut), Olive Ostrovsky (Jeff Award-winning Elizabeth Stenholt) and Marcy Park (Shelbi Voss). As we meet the spellers, there are times we will meet some other people in their life. These characters are portrayed by spellers.

There is a very emotional moment towards the end where Olive and her parents connect. We also see a wonderful moment when Marcy realizes she doesn’t have to win to be happy. Competition can bring people together. Olive and William begin to form a bond as the competition comes to a close. The moments of quick spell are fantastic. There is limited choreography but Morgan DiFonzo crafted great movement. There is ultimately a winner and a huge celebration. After the celebrating is over, each character tells the audience what happened to each of them as the years went by. It’s a wonderful to end the production.

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