Under the SpellNew Line Theatre’s Putnam County Spelling Bee is loads of f-u-n Theatre Review

It was just like back in third grade, where I misspelled secretary with an “a” in the middle instead of an “e.” But 40-odd years and many misspellings later, it was “lues,” a rarely used word for syphilis, that bounced me from the bee.

Part of the fun of The Putnam County Spelling Bee is the nightly addition of three audience members, chosen from a list of reckless souls who sign up to be onstage. Before I was called to the microphone, two cast contestants whispered: “You can ask for a definition and ask to have the word used in a sentence.” “But don’t try to be funny,” warned the character of Marcy Park (Alexis Kinney), an overachiever who speaks six languages, plays three instruments and is not allowed to cry.

Marcy is one of six elementary school spellers whose angst illustrates the toll that competition takes on us all. Others include William Barfee (Nicholas Kelly), a nasally sounding boy with only one working nostril and a magic spelling foot; Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Emily Berry), whose two dads’ last names are Schwartz and Grubenierre; and Leaf Coneybear (Aaron Allen), a second runner-up who’s only there because the two who finished ahead of him had to go to a bat mitzvah. Mitch Mahoney (John Rhine) is an ex-con with a community service obligation to be a “Comfort Counselor” who gives hugs and hands out juice boxes to the losers (mine was apple).

New Line’s production at Washington University’s South Campus Theatre (the old CBC High School) was poignant and funny. Barfee (pronounced “BarFAY”) -- who at first bristles and corrects the judges when they mispronounce it “Barfy” but is later worn down to a resigned “Whatever” -- carried off the renowned magic foot spelling song and routine with aplomb.

The signature piece of Boy Scout Chip Tolentino (Mike Dowdy), “My Unfortunate Erection,” exemplifies why, even though the play’s characters are children, it’s more of an adult performance, complete with certain four-letter words that everyone knows how to spell.

Also not to be missed is the sharp performance of Deborah Sharn as a co-judge and former spelling bee champ Rona Lisa Peretti (she reminds us several times that she won with the word “syzygy”). That the meaning of her prize-winning word is “a type of unity” is fitting, as the spellers discover they all have nerdiness and insecurity in common. Judge and Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Brian Claussen) is also their soulmate in that regard.

Sabotage, the casting off of perfection, and the tender beginnings of love stir the emotional pot of act two. In the end, only one speller emerges victorious, but everyone who came to see the play also wins, in terms of money and time well spent for a night’s entertainment.

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by Nancy Larson