When you have five Glee cast alumni on the theatre stages of New York City at the same time, decisions must be made. As an avid obsessive of that show—we’re talking Gleek of the century here—spotting Kevin McHale amongst the cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was more than enough to warrant a trip to the Big Apple. Knowing next to nothing about Spelling Bee before heading into the theatre at New World Stages save for the fact that it was a comedy/musical, there were virtually no expectations for what was about to unfold in the onstage gymnasium hosting some especially unlikable characters. Overflowing with off-color comedy and bizarre asides, there’s a certain appeal to the strangeness of the revived Spelling Bee that may scratch just the right itch. For everyone else, the oddities and forgettable music numbers may be a bit too much, flirting with casual guffaws rather than gut-busting hysterics.
The stage never shifts or moves—in fact, the full extent of the show’s immersion has been laid bare when audiences take their seats. A room not unlike the choir room of the McKinley High Glee Club shows a set of seats for all our players, as well as basketball nets and a set of seats for the Bee’s hosts. The orchestra sits atop this stage, flatly laid out behind one of the basketball court’s hoops. Our window into the zany world of Spelling Bee comes courtesy of former champ Rona Lisa Peretti (Lilli Cooper), who also happens to be a real estate agent apparently qualified to help judge the bee. Equally as strange is Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Jason Kravits), whose constant word definitions are a silly delight. Matt Manuel’s Mitch provides words of wisdom and guidance as a coach waiting on the sidelines. So far, so Glee.
One by one, we meet our cast of characters as they wander onto the stage. There’s last year’s winner, Chip (Philippe Arroyo), desperate to bag another victory no matter the cost. There’s Barfée—pronounced Bar-Fay, not Barf-ee—who always sounds congested and uses his “magic foot” to spell words. Uber-hippie Leaf (Justin Cooley) makes his own clothes, and seems to become spontaneously possessed to spell out complicated words that prove his intelligence. One girl, Olive (Jasmine Amy Rogers), cannot even afford the $25 admission fee, but promises her dad will pay it at the end. Transfer student, Marcy (Leanna Rae Concepcion), and the lispy, obnoxiously political Logainne (Autumn Best), round out the veritable cast of losers. In a fun meta twist, a few contestants have been plucked right from the audience to have their own attempt at Bee glory. The group never breaks out into “Loser Like Me,” but rousing ensemble number “Pandemonium” comes closest to that musical theatre sweet spot.
By its very structure, despite a short runtime and the absence of an intermission, Spelling Bee begins to feel extremely repetitive around the midway point. The majority of the main players get random asides to sing about their backgrounds. The staging allows for players to fill in as echoey flashbacks chameleon their roles into parents and family members. Attempts to tie in emotionality mostly fall flat, with the majority of these archetypes coming off as overtly unlikable rather than awkwardly endearing, a la Glee. As the roster thins out and words grow absurdly complex to the point that it’s difficult to imagine nearly anyone spelling them correctly, the show turns towards a rather obvious endgame. An unneeded addition of a love story—and subsequently, an out-of-place epilogue—feel as if they have been imported from a different title entirely.
As its best when leaning into meta comedy, Spelling Bee has all the pieces of a great show, but doesn’t seem to know how they all fit together. On purely a vocal level, not a bad note exists amongst the cast. Cooper and Rogers are true standouts. Kevin McHale got the biggest laughs with his quirky characterizations. But with so many ballads and repetitive jokes, the cyclical nature of the story becomes all the more apparent. Why are most characters given backstories, yet—minor spoiler alert—not the actual winner of the spelling bee? That felt like an extremely random choice that only hurts the staying power. If a magical foot and crude dick jokes are more memorable than the songs, there seems to be a fundamental problem on a lyrical level. Perhaps those more attuned to the off-color humor will celebrate this bizarre show. With endless theatre currently flooding the market, recommending one that’s merely okay rather than being incredible feels disingenuous. Q-U-A-N-D-A-R-Y: a state of perplexity or uncertainty, in this case regarding one’s mixed feelings on a certain Off-Broadway show with a great cast.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is now playing performances at New World Stages. For ticketing information, head over to the official website, and don’t let your unfortunate erection get in the way!
