‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’

Picture your typical elementary school spelling bee. Creaky bleachers, stale gymnasium air, proud parents filling the stands, and nervous students, trying their best to stay calm.

Now, erase all that from your mind and add in a deranged word pronouncer, a nostalgic ex-spelling bee champion,

several dysfunctional families, a magic foot, and one crazy afternoon in Putnam County, and you have an idea of what is in store for if you choose to take in CSC’s most recent theatrical production, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

In a whirlwind of hilarity, song, dance and spelling, the cast takes the audience along the journey of six anxious and unique spelling bee participants. The play was originally presented as C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E and conceived by The Farm, which is an improvisational group in New York City. It later changed names and was revamped into the crazy, pandemonium-filled production that is gracing the stage at CSC.

It begins with Rona Lisa Peretti, played by Dara Edwards, senior of North Platte, flashing back to her winning word spell years ago. Her excitement for the current participants is made evident by the song she begins and eventually the rest of the cast joins as the spellers are introduced and then sing of their own anticipation for the day.

Each speller has his or her own individual story of how they arrived at the spelling bee and his or her own way of deciding how each word is spelled. Olive Ostrovsky, played by Molly Thornton, senior of Riverton, Wyoming, has arrived at the bee alone and without an entrance fee because her mother is off searching for her soul in India, and father is taking his frustrations with his wife out on his daughter. Her spelling technique is to talk into her hand and say the letter to herself before she says them out loud to the judges.

Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, played by Asia Carr, junior of Chadron, is the adopted daughter of two men, one of which is putting pressure on his daughter where she feels she is obligated to win because she doesn’t want to let her dads down. Her special technique for spelling is writing her words out on her arm before speaking them because she needs to visualize the word before saying the letters.

Leaf Coneybear, played by Derek Phelps, senior of Sidney, is the strange, yet endearing child of parents who think he is not that smart. Phelps does a phenomenal job of capturing the essence of a misunderstood goofball who knows he is smart deep-down but has trouble portraying it to others. His technique for spelling is interesting, and comes across as he almost is put into a trance or being possessed, and it is not really him spelling the words.

Chip Tolentino, played by Chance Hejde, freshman of Rapid City, South Dakota, is the previous year’s winner of the bee. He is eager to compete in the bee and when he is disqualified after a certain incident with Leaf’s sister, Marigold, Chip goes off the deep end. He has a fairly normal technique for spelling, but he worries about his words too much and eventually a slip up costs him his shot at nationals.

William Morris Barfée, played by Samuel Thomas Martin, sophomore of Hot Springs, South Dakota, was a finalist in the previous year’s spelling bee. His downfall came from his allergic reaction to peanuts, which led to his disqualification. This year, however, he is determined to win. He has the most peculiar way of spelling his words because his “Magic Foot” aids him to correct spellings. He also has a fairly obvious crush on Olive, which makes itself apparent throughout the play.

The final member of the motley crew of participants is Marcy Park, played by Tami Rethman, senior of Verdon. Marcy speaks six languages, plays hockey and rugby, is proficient on many instruments, sleeps three hours a night, hides in a bathroom cabinet and is not allowed to cry, even though she wants to. Rethman portrays Park as an angst-filled child, tired of her overly scheduled life.

The play goes on to explain how each student is eliminated from competition and eventually a winner is decided.

The CSC theatre department has outdone itself with an enjoyable, funny and visually pleasing performance that will keep any audience on its toes waiting for the next joke or silly pun. The lighting and music of the play fit well into the production. Overall, this performance receives an A for a “spell”-binding and uproarious portrayal of the lives of these five participants and the people around them.