I know I'm overdue for my reviews on recent movies and shows that I saw, including those in NYC, but I feel compelled to write about the current LA production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which is playing for 4 weeks with the original Broadway cast at the Wadsworth Theater.
Going in to the show, I was familiar with the music (beautifully written by William Finn), the characters (in all their crazy and wacky glory), and the overall look and flow of the show (taking audience members and having them participate in the Bee). I'm not sure if it was the original cast with their perfected characters, but I was not prepared to be laughing out loud the entire time! Has it really been that long since I've been surprised by a musical? The last shows I've seen in LA were Wicked and The Light In The Piazza, both of which I had seen before. In New York, I was so familiar with Altar Boyz that nothing came as a surprise for me, and with Spring Awakening and Legally Blonde I was so close that I paid more attention to the little nuances of the show than the show itself.
The great thing about Spelling Bee is the audience participation, which adds a whole new element to musical theater and allows the actors to improv to their hearts content. The entire time I was watching the show I kept thinking, "This would be so much fun!"
By far the highlight of the show was getting the opportunity to see the original cast. I can't even pick any out as standing out above the rest because they were all so good, and you could tell how close knit of a group they are. The only non-original cast member was the guy playing Mitch Mahoney, who came from the (apparently recently ended) national tour. He was pretty good, but his voice seemed to be going, and he sounded like he was pushing a lot. Jesse Tyler Ferguson was hilarious as Leaf Coneybear, and I think it would be hard to re-create the character without taking a lot of what he contributed to the role. His wackiness was brilliant, so it's no surprise that he was picked up from the show for The Class, and actually had the role on the sitcom created for him. I think I was most ecstatic to see Celia Keenan-Bolger as Olive Ostrovsky. She is such an up and coming star, and she is so talented and so cute. Her character's song, "The I Love You Song," was my favorite moment of the show. She played the role with such honesty, conviction, and tenderness and she reminded me of the kid in your class who you almost feel bad for because of how soft spoken and shy she is. Deborah S. Craig as Marcy Park was hilarious, and man did the Asian jokes fly throughout the show! Her song about singing 6 languages (NOT 5. Get it right) was perfect, right down to the old school hip hop choreography, panty flashing, and splits. For a character I underestimated and never really paid much attention to, she blew me away! Dan Fogler, who won the Tony for his portrayal of William Barfee (if only I had the ability to type an accent aigu), was pretty much brilliant, and I can't really imagine a different interpretation of the character. Every little nuance, from his mental intensity to his fancy footwork to his cracked out vibrato impressed me. Lisa Howard has a beautiful voice, and was an excellent "den mother" as Rona Lisa Peretti. Seriously, every time she opened her mouth to sing I got chills. I'm so happy she is on the recording of the show. Jay Reiss as Vice Principal Douglas Panch had a lot of pressure on him to carry the show, both with the characters as well as the audience participants, and he did a marvelous job. His monotone improving and impeccable comedic timing contributed to most of the laughs from the audience, and his Drama Desk Award is well deserved. Jose Llana was awesome as Chip Tolentino. He perfectly embodied the pubescent nature of the characters at that age, complete with his impressive rendition of "My Unfortunate Erection." Classic. Sarah Saltzberg was so cute as Logainne Schwartzandgrubinierre. What I find even more impressive than her lisp was the fact that she was in NYC just last week opening the commercial run of her improv comedy show Don't Quit Your Night Job at the Ha! Comedy Club.
And I guess that about covers it. It definitely has moved up the
list of my favorite shows, and I look forward to getting the chance to see future productions. It is so fresh and easy to incorporate current events and local jokes (in this production, Leaf Coneybear was the 2nd runner up in the Topanga Canyon Bee, and he had the opportunity to come because the first place winner was having her Bat Mitzfah, and the second place winner had to attend the Bat Mitzfah), so it is safe to say the show will have a long life to come...
Going in to the show, I was familiar with the music (beautifully written by William Finn), the characters (in all their crazy and wacky glory), and the overall look and flow of the show (taking audience members and having them participate in the Bee). I'm not sure if it was the original cast with their perfected characters, but I was not prepared to be laughing out loud the entire time! Has it really been that long since I've been surprised by a musical? The last shows I've seen in LA were Wicked and The Light In The Piazza, both of which I had seen before. In New York, I was so familiar with Altar Boyz that nothing came as a surprise for me, and with Spring Awakening and Legally Blonde I was so close that I paid more attention to the little nuances of the show than the show itself.
The great thing about Spelling Bee is the audience participation, which adds a whole new element to musical theater and allows the actors to improv to their hearts content. The entire time I was watching the show I kept thinking, "This would be so much fun!"
By far the highlight of the show was getting the opportunity to see the original cast. I can't even pick any out as standing out above the rest because they were all so good, and you could tell how close knit of a group they are. The only non-original cast member was the guy playing Mitch Mahoney, who came from the (apparently recently ended) national tour. He was pretty good, but his voice seemed to be going, and he sounded like he was pushing a lot. Jesse Tyler Ferguson was hilarious as Leaf Coneybear, and I think it would be hard to re-create the character without taking a lot of what he contributed to the role. His wackiness was brilliant, so it's no surprise that he was picked up from the show for The Class, and actually had the role on the sitcom created for him. I think I was most ecstatic to see Celia Keenan-Bolger as Olive Ostrovsky. She is such an up and coming star, and she is so talented and so cute. Her character's song, "The I Love You Song," was my favorite moment of the show. She played the role with such honesty, conviction, and tenderness and she reminded me of the kid in your class who you almost feel bad for because of how soft spoken and shy she is. Deborah S. Craig as Marcy Park was hilarious, and man did the Asian jokes fly throughout the show! Her song about singing 6 languages (NOT 5. Get it right) was perfect, right down to the old school hip hop choreography, panty flashing, and splits. For a character I underestimated and never really paid much attention to, she blew me away! Dan Fogler, who won the Tony for his portrayal of William Barfee (if only I had the ability to type an accent aigu), was pretty much brilliant, and I can't really imagine a different interpretation of the character. Every little nuance, from his mental intensity to his fancy footwork to his cracked out vibrato impressed me. Lisa Howard has a beautiful voice, and was an excellent "den mother" as Rona Lisa Peretti. Seriously, every time she opened her mouth to sing I got chills. I'm so happy she is on the recording of the show. Jay Reiss as Vice Principal Douglas Panch had a lot of pressure on him to carry the show, both with the characters as well as the audience participants, and he did a marvelous job. His monotone improving and impeccable comedic timing contributed to most of the laughs from the audience, and his Drama Desk Award is well deserved. Jose Llana was awesome as Chip Tolentino. He perfectly embodied the pubescent nature of the characters at that age, complete with his impressive rendition of "My Unfortunate Erection." Classic. Sarah Saltzberg was so cute as Logainne Schwartzandgrubinierre. What I find even more impressive than her lisp was the fact that she was in NYC just last week opening the commercial run of her improv comedy show Don't Quit Your Night Job at the Ha! Comedy Club.
And I guess that about covers it. It definitely has moved up the
list of my favorite shows, and I look forward to getting the chance to see future productions. It is so fresh and easy to incorporate current events and local jokes (in this production, Leaf Coneybear was the 2nd runner up in the Topanga Canyon Bee, and he had the opportunity to come because the first place winner was having her Bat Mitzfah, and the second place winner had to attend the Bat Mitzfah), so it is safe to say the show will have a long life to come...
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