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This Tuesday, February 13, I saw the national tour of Spelling Bee in Birmingham, Alabama. It was AMAZING, and if anyone has the opportunity to see the show, I would HIGHLY recommend seeing it.
I bought the soundtrack about a year ago, and I loved it. When I found out it was coming to Birmingham, I got tickets the day they were available. I went with my entire family, and we had seats in the last row of the orchestra pit. (They were PERFECT)
For those of you who don't know, the show is about a Spelling Bee, and the characters are aged between elementary school and 8th grade. There are two teachers who run the bee, Rona Lisa Peretti and Vice-Principal Douglas Panch. There is also the "Comfort Counselor" Mitch Mahoney, who is serving community service hours by giving the eliminated kids a hug and a box of apple juice. The spellers include:
Marcy Park, who made it to 9th at nationals last year;
Leaf Coneybear, who was only 2nd runner-up in his school bee;
William Barfee, who was disqualified last year due to a health-related incident;
Chip Tolentino, last year's Putnam Co. Champ;
Logainne Schwartzandgrbennierre, the youngest competitor, with 2 stage fathers.
and Olive Ostrovsky, whose mother is in India, and her father promises that he'll try to make it this time.
It is a major audience-participation show, and four audience members are chosen to be "in the bee."
Unfortunately, due to Tornado warnings and awful sleet and hail, we left Tuscaloosa late, and I was too late to put my name in to be "in the bee." When we entered the theatre, I first noticed how small the stage seemed. There was no curtain drawn, and it was all built in, with a small set of bleachers, a table for the judges, a piano stuck close in behind them, and a microphone down center. The lighting was great, and it really looked like a school gym. And something about the set made me feel like I was right there with the actors.
That feeling was enhanced when Ms. Peretti entered through the audience, squeezing in past the first row, talking to people even before her mic was on. And then, of course, she called people out of the audience to be in the Bee. When I first read that there was audience participation in the bee, I was dubious that it would work on stage. But it ran so smoothly, and Ms Peretti and Mr Panch were hilarious, improvising jokes about the audience members before they spelled. (For instance, one of the people called up was pregnant and Ms Peretti commented "Miss So-and-so is president of her schools Abstinence Club." and Mr Panch added, "And remember, you're spelling for two")
The entire show was bursting with hilarity. Cast members entered and exited through the audience, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire show. My parents had never listened to the show before, and they had tears in their eyes they were laughing so hard. In some ways it was similar to the first time I made them listen to Avenue Q. (Hee, Hee)
CAST STANDOUTS-
Jennifer Simard (Rona Lisa Peretti)- Her voice is amazing, and her comedic timing is PERFECT. Her improvisation was SO good, and she had me laughing everytime she opened her mouth.
Katie Boren (Marcy Park)- "I Speak Six Languages" was CRAZY it was so good. She did perfect back handsprings, popped into a split like it was nothing, took over for the on-stage pianist at one point, and her voice was STUNNING. On top of that, she was hilarious.
Lauren Worsham (Olive)- Most amazing voice I have ever heard live. The "I Love You Song" made me cry, it was so good. I didn't want it to end. I think she was better than the original.
Michael Zahler (Leaf Coneybear)- He was absolutely hilarious, and there wasn't a moment in "I'm Not that Smart" that I wasn't laughing. On top of that, his voice was great, hitting those high notes easily. I never wanted him to be eliminated. And when he became one of Logainne's dads, he was PERFECT, HILARIOUS, AMAZING, THERE ISN'T A SUFFICIENT ADJECTIVE! Loved his performance.
Miguel Cervantes as Chip Tolentino, Eric Petersen as William Barfee, and Sarah Stiles as Logainne Schwartzandgrubennierre, were all great. And James Kall as Mr. Panch was hilarious. The only real disappointment in the cast was Mitch Mahoney. (I saw the understudy, Andrew Kober) He was okay in the "I Love You Song" but "Prayer of the Comfort Counselor" was pretty rough.
MY FAVORITE MOMENT(s) OF THE BEE-
I'm Not That Smart - again, Michael Zahler was hilarious.
My Unfortunate Erection- Miguel Cervantes was so funny, and during this scene he was throwing candy into the audience, and I caught a bag of peanut M&Ms!
I Speak Six Languages- Katie Boren was so good. She is an amazing performer, vocally and physically!
The I Love You Song- so touching. The singing was amazing! (Particularly from Lauren Worsham and Jennifer Simard)
This was definitely the best live show I've ever seen. I was laughing, crying, and I never wanted it to end. I would highly reccommend seeing the national tour.
http://www.spellingbeethemusical.com/tour/ - You can access all the information there. |
