Strong vocals and good comic timing make for a really fun production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” by SRJC’s Summer Repertory Theater. This musical is full of word jokes and cheeky characters, not to mention a few life lessons. It’s a delightful, laugh out loud story.
A group of quirky kids gather for the Spelling Bee, with high hopes for winning and making it through to the National competition in Washington, D.C. Each one of them has a story of how they came to be there, be it parental pressure or a love of words, and a unique spelling method. The adults running the Bee are as eccentric as the kids.
A further quirky side to this play is the audience participation. Four volunteers from the audience are called up as the play begins. On the night I saw it, they did an admirable job with their spelling efforts, asking for definitions and usage in sentences.
The entire cast embraces their characters very well. It’s fun to see familiar faces in the SRT productions, in the range of plays they do through their season. Hannah Ray Darcey again stuns with her voice, playing the director of the Bee, Ms. Peretti. Kelvin Hewlett does a great job as the comfort counselor, Mitch Mahoney, especially when he serenades the final eliminated audience participant. Sarah Smithton impresses with her vocals, playing the youngest participant, lisping and earnest Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere.
Although the characters are adolescents, the play involves mature themes and it’s worth being aware that it’s recommended for 12 years and over.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Still Playing:
7:30 p.m. July 20, 23, 24, Aug. 1
2:00 p.m. July 25
Summer Repertory Theater
Burbank Auditorium
Santa Rosa Junior College
Mendocino Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA
Box Office: 707-527-4343
www.summerrep.com
