RLT spells a good time
Published Wed, Aug 11, 2010 02:00 AM Modified Wed, Aug 11, 2010 05:56 AM
Can a musical be worth seeing for everything but its music? Yes, if it's “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” especially the snappy, funny production at Raleigh Little Theatre.
The setting is a high school gymnasium where six student competitors are the focus, including painfully shy Olive, overweight know-it-all William and budding activist Logainne, her pronounced lisp and overprotective gay dads equally problematic. There's also overachiever Marcy, son-of-hippies Leaf and puberty- challenged Boy Scout Chip.
Rachel Sheinkin won a Tony for her witty script, which keeps the audience rocking, especially with the hilarious examples given when contestants ask for their words to be used in sentences. There's also smart satirizing of adolescents dealing with their hormones and astute commentary on winning and losing.
A musical's foundation should be its songs, but William Finn supplies uninspired numbers with repetitive lyrics. They're meant to mimic children's ditties but end up thin and empty, often slowing the momentum while rarely revealing anything new about the characters.
None of this daunts the RLT creative team. Director Rod Rich keeps the action moving, knowingly balancing the show's silliness and sentiment. Nancy Rich's choreography slyly parodies show-biz and pop culture moves, while Vicki Olson's costumes add amusing character. Coty Cockrell's four-piece pit band contributes lively accompaniment, although at Friday's opening, the band often overpowered the singers and various stage microphones turned uncooperative.
The talented cast makes the show work. Jeffrey Vizcaino gives William's smart- aleck manner a charming awkwardness, Mary Reilly finds warm sincerity for Olive and Adrienne Morton gets across Logainne's fierce competitiveness, although her intense lisping often obscures essential dialogue. Jon Todd's Leaf is comically free-spirited, Jon Karnofsky's Chip is hilariously enthralled by testosterone and Aurelia Belfield's Marcy is endearing in her battle to be best in all things.
David Adams displays vocal prowess as Mitch, the ex-con doing community service as comfort counselor to the losers; Carly Prentis Jones makes a perkily efficient Rona, former bee winner and now moderator; and Jason Matthews draws consistent guffaws as vice principal Douglas, serving as judge and word reader, his irritation at the contestants' little quirks funneled into bitingly sarcastic readings.
Its innocent-sounding title notwithstanding, the show contains frank sexual references, four-letter words and some gentle spoofing of religion, a consideration for those with young children or those easily offended. Otherwise, the musical makes an entertaining 90 minutes - despite the music.
