Market Theatre "Spelling Bee" is F-U-N

Paul Hyde/Anderson Observer

Everyone wins in The Market Theatre’s high-spirited production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

It’s a winning cast, winning production and winning experience for the audience.Please: Escobar Photography

Drew Whitley’s staging of “Spelling Bee,” a musical about the tribulations of awkward adolescence, is brimful of boisterous energy.

Jared Fricks is responsible for the tight music direction. 

And where else can you learn how to spell such dandy words as “capybara,” “acouchi,” “phylactery” and, of course, “vug.” (You never know when those might come in handy.)

The show, running only through Monday, is set in a school gymnasium where six middle-schoolers, along with a few people selected from the audience, compete in a spelling bee. They’re all desperate to win, but the show is really about young brainiac oddballs struggling with all the geeky emotional melodramas of the early teen years.

Among those youthful challenges: self-doubt, speech impediments, parental neglect and the enormous pressure to win.

Whitley’s direction and Mary Haley Thompson’s peppy choreography make this “Spelling Bee” a rambunctious affair. The musical, with music and lyrics by William Finn, offers a glimpse of the frantic energy that seethes underneath the organized proceedings of a spelling bee.

No surprise, then, that one of the big numbers is called “Pandemonium.”

All of the actors enthusiastically inhabit their roles. This is an ensemble show, but each actor gets a moment to shine.

DeAnna Gregory does a fine job as the lisping Logainne, who has to deal not only with a speech impediment but two bickering dads (or “dadths,” as she says). Gregory has one of the show’s funniest moments as she makes a plea (apparently off-script) for freeing Britney Spears from her conservatorship. 

Isha Pattanaik is poignant as the unloved Olive, whose parents are far away, physically or emotionally.

Christina Boothe nicely conveys the woes of the relentless overachiever Marcy.

Jonathan “Thor” Raines plays Leaf with the right amount of self-doubt, which Leaf tries to cover by being loud.

Matthew Quattlebaum is engaging as William, who spells with his “magic foot.” 

Noah Taylor is sympathetic as Chip, with his unfortunate attack of raging hormones. Taylor, the Market Theatre’s executive artistic director, is returning to the stage after a 10-year break.  

There are three adult characters in the show as well. DeBryant Johnson plays Mitch, a man helping at the spelling bee as a part of his court-ordered community service. Johnson is the show’s secret weapon, unleashing a soaring voice in “Prayer of the Comfort Counselor.”

Paige Whitman (as Rona) and Mark Cawood (as Vice Principal Panch) offer fine contributions as the adults trying to maintain order at the spelling bee.

One quibble: At Friday night’s performance, some of the words, particularly in the songs, were unclear. It’s uncertain whether that was a problem of diction, amplification or the venue. 

Theatergoers should note: The show contains some adult content, earning it a PG-13 rating.

For tickets to “Spelling Bee,” call 864-729-2999 or visit the website markettheatre.org.

Paul Hyde, a longtime Upstate journalist and English professor, writes about the arts for the Anderson Observer.