UMD’s Putnam Bee is spelled h-y-s-t-e-r-i-c-a-l
Sheryl Jensen
Duluth News Tribune
October 4, 2019
Can you spell phylactery or crepuscle? How about Weltanschauung, omphaloskepsis or staphylococcus? Hmmm … maybe you are not smarter than a sixth-grader.
Audiences at Thursday’s opening night performance of UMD’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee belly-laughed their way through the spelling, singing, dancing and middle-school antics of the six bee finalists and the four audience volunteers.
The Tony Award Winning musical features composer William Finn’s catchy score. UMD’s talented (and appropriately costumed) five-piece band is led by conductor Thomas Jacobsen.
Creating the adorable sextet of neurotic spellers, the six terrific actors at the heart of the show each have a chance to shine in their vocal numbers and with their distinctive character development and quirky personalities.
The egotistical William Barfée (Brendan Finn) uses his hysterical “magic foot” to help him spell out the words on the floor as he labors to deal with both his mucus membrane disorder and his peanut allergy.
Poor Chip Tolentino (Ben Knowlton) has to deal not only with the ridiculously impossible spelling list, but also an unfortunate and embarrassing physical “manifestation” inspired by a cute girl in the audience.
Logainne Schwartzandgrunenierre (Maddie Schafer) with her adorable lisp and fervent mini-manifestos does everything she can to make her two gay dads proud of her as she stomps her way through the competition.
One of the strongest singers in the show is Brett Burggraff, who also creates a funny Leaf Coneybear who finds his inspiration in timely trances that make the correct spelling just magically pop out of his mouth.
Playing Marcy Park, the anal-retentive “Miss Perfect,” Miranda Neuhaus had one of the evening’s vocal highlights in her “I Speak Six Languages” song. Neuhaus showed her physical humor as well, demonstrating some of the myriad things Marcy could do to perfection while still convincingly belting the song.
“The I Love You Song” gives Anna Matthes, playing the painfully shy and quiet Olive Ostrovsky, a chance to show her full, rich and beautiful voice, with echoes of “Spring Awakening” and the song “Mama Who Bore Me” coming through in a few spots.
Playing the three lead adults in the show, Hayley Rosenthal, Jack Senske and Nick Wright all had great fun with their roles as the grown-ups trying to keep the bee on track and often failing miserably.
Even the audience volunteers had some humorous moments trying to stay in the competition. Not sure, though, how much coaching they had, and if one of the four, the last volunteer standing, was a “ringer” who was part of the show.
Director Jenna Soloe-Shanks keeps the festivities on a crisp pace in this hour-and-40-minute production, performed without an intermission.
