★★★★
333 words, 2 minutes read time.
Language fascinates me. So a play featuring one of those quintessential American competitions, a ‘Spelling Bee,’ sounded like it be interesting. In a spelling bee, the adjudicator gives each contestant a word to spell. If necessary, they may ask for a definition of the word. They can also inquire about its linguistic roots. Additionally, they may request an example of its use in a sentence.
What took me by surprise was the discovery that this play was a musical. It had elements of improvisation and audience participation. It was brilliantly executed by the talented young cast. There were some terrific jokes. A stand-in adjudicator had to replace the regular one ‘who got lost in an Ikea and hasn’t been seen since’. He asked one of the random audience participants to spell ‘Batman.’ She asked for the word’s use in a sentence. The reply came, ‘Nana, nana, nana, nana, Batman!’
Some of these kids were a bit damaged. Stephen was loud and overconfident. Olive’s mum was away in an ashram in India. Her dad wasn’t there to pay her $25 entry fee or to cheer her on. Logan’s two dads were the ultimate pushy parents whom she could never quite please. The previous year’s winner threw the ultimate strop when he misspelled a word and found himself eliminated from the contest. Some were visibly neurodivergent and showed different tics. Logan spelled out a word with her fingers on her wrist. Stephen by tapping out the letters with his ‘magic’ right foot.
The cast gave everything they had to their singing, their dancing, and their acting. Fair play to the four random audience participants too. Although thrown in at the deep end, they joined in the fun enthusiastically. The full house loved this immensely entertaining production for its laughs, for its music and for its elements of pathos. If you’re looking for the antidote to dark, grim plays, see this one. You will not be disappointed.
Reviewed by David Kerr
Till August 24th. Tickets here.
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