BWW Reviews: SPELLING BEE at the Ballard Underground

Contemporary Classics and RK Productions have collaborated to put up the Seattle Premiere of William Finn's hilarious musical "The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at the Ballard Underground.  And while the show is missing some of the deeper moments, on the surface it's a fun frolicking good time.

The show centers on (what else?) a spelling bee.   Here the 6 winning kids of their regional bees have come together to try and advance on from Putnam County to nationals.  And what a diverse group they are.  There's the eager Olive, the confident Chip (and last year's winner), the reluctantly perfect Marcy, the anxious Loggaine, the socially awkward William and the adorably quirky home schooled Leaf.  All of whom are joined by Miss Rona Lisa Peretti and Vice Principal Douglas Panch who are moderating the bee and the comfort counselor Mitch Mahoney who's just here to work off his community service with support and juice boxes.  Oh and there's also 3 other contestants who didn't know they were going to be contestants when they started out the evening.  Yes, the show pulls 3 people from the audience each night to go for Bee fame and glory.  And there's some singing and dancing too.

So let me start by saying that this is one of my favorite shows.  It's from one of my favorite composers and it's hilarious and touching and full of great songs and beautiful moments.  I've seen the thing four different times including the original Broadway cast.  So I tend to get a little picky when I see productions of it.  And while the vocals in the show were mostly right on target, I felt it was lacking some of the depth that these characters can have.  Just because they are kids doesn't mean they don't have layers.  And it seemed that some of the heart of the show was overlooked in favor of getting out the next joke or making the songs pretty and lively.  That's not to say I (and the rest of the audience) didn't have a great time, but I remember actually tearing up at other productions from these kids' wins and losses and it just wasn't quite there.

But again, it is a great time and there are some hysterical performances.  William A. Williams is delightful as the home schooled Leaf Coneybear.  His wide eyed innocence and spot on comic timing made him joy to watch.  Robert Scherzer is wonderful as the nasally challenged and overly nerdy William Barfee.  And the little devilish twinkle in Justin Huertas' eye as Chip made for a perfect combination with his character as he ... um ... well ... burst into puberty.  But the stand outs for me (in an already stunning ensemble) had to be Ashley Fitzsimmons as Olive and Brian Denmar Jones as Mitch.  Jones not only infused his Mitch character with humor and heart but all his other characters as well and his voice is like velvet.  And Fitzsimmons blew me away as soon as she opened her mouth with a full and richly powerful voice that I could not believe was coming from that little body.  And her rendition of "The I Love You Song" which she sings with Jones and Kate Jaeger (who was doubling as Olive's Mother) was superb.  That was also the number that showed where this show can go as it contained the most character and heart in the show.  I just wish some of it had carried over into other parts.

Jaeger also plays double duty as director as well as playing the role of Miss Peretti.  I often wonder about the choice of a director putting themselves in the show they are directing (especially in such a large part).  I wonder if maybe the divided focus accounted for some of the lacking character development. 

But still a wonderful show and well worth seeing.  Unless you are against having a good time, laughing hysterically or have a phobia against spelling.  But if you're scared, don't worry.  Mitch will be there with a juice box for you.

"The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" plays through August 14^th at the Ballard Underground with special additional 11PM "adult oriented" shows on Saturdays (the words being spelled are changed to a more adult nature).  For tickets or information visit them online at www.contemporaryclassics.org.

Photo Credit: Danielle Barnum/dbinspiredarts.com

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