Theater Review: 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"

Review by Nancy Sasso Janis

TheatreWorks New Milford is inviting patrons to “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” This charming musical by William Finn (music and lyrics) and Rachel Sheinkin (book) depicts a high pressure spelling bee for young spellers portrayed by adult actors. This deceptively simple concept was conceived by Rebecca Feldman and it is based upon C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L -E, an original play by The Farm.

Kate Kovacs (“Stepping Out” and “Four Old Broads” in Sherman) directs the very fun production in her hometown, which runs through Dec. 31.

Kovacs writes “I’m partial to shows that showcase adults in the role of youth. It’s both a challenge and a lot of fun to let go of all responsibilities and trappings of adulthood and take on the freedom, silliness and immaturity of childhood….I truly love this show with its delightful music, quirky characters and audience participation and I hope you will love it too!”

Brianna Mattingly served as musical director, helping the singers follow the musical tracks. Mattingly played Catherine in TheatreWorks’ “Pippin” and works with students at NVCC. Sandra Hernandez, who was born and raised in Spain, was the choreographer of the numerous dance numbers sprinkled throughout the two acts. I especially enjoyed the unique moves for “Woe is Me” and “Pandemonium.”

Mark Hankla designed the lighting and the director was in charge of the production design. Lana Peck took care of the effective scenic painting.

I did love the cast that she has assembled for this production, many of whom were performers that I was seeing for the first time.

Rosalie Pena was not a new face for me, having seen her in the role of Olive Ostrovsky at Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury. Naturally, she embodies the adorable character and sings very well in her TheatreWorks debut. Here she takes on the wonderful role of Olive Ostrovsky, who studies “My friend, the dictionary” in the bathroom.

Jimmy Collins is appropriately lugubrious as William Barfee in his TheaterWorks debut. Bob Roda does really well as VICE Principal Douglas Panch. Roda notes that he is “thrilled to be fulfilling his life-long dream of performing on stage with his debut” in this show.

Tanya Wills, a new resident of New Milford, shines in the role of Rona Lisa Paretti and Olive’s Mom. Wills, who returns to the stage after an 11-year absence, uses his strong singing voice for her number “My Favorite Moment of the Bee” and its reprises, dances well, and has poise throughout her performance.'

Marc ‘Maracevan’ Costanzo takes on the role of Charlito “Chip” Tolentino, the generic scout that was last year’s champion. Costanzo makes his TheatreWorks debut.

Alyssa Schneider (“Urinetown” in Brookfield) embodies the role of Leaf Coneybear, usually cast by a male presenting actor. In this production the character is called to the microphone as simply “Coneybear.”

Amayah (AJ) Zimboski plays the very serious Marcy Park, a student at Our Lady of Intermittent Sorrows, in her TheatreWorks debut. Amy Lamberti is a delight as the youngest speller, Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre. Lamberti returns to the stage after almost a decade for her TheatreWorks debut. Eliana Russotti plays the “Comfort Counselor” Meg Mahoney and Dan Dad in her TheatreWorks debut.

Keep an ear out for a Patti Lupone joke, some very contemporary political verbiage from Logainne, and clever descriptions of the guest spellers. Keep your eyes open for many vintage toy props, including a Hoppity Hop, stretchy finger puppets and more. Oh, and Jesus rides a Hoverboard.

I secured a free ticket for the senior night performance and signed up online to be considered for a seat on the stage as a guest speller. It was a pleasure to hear my name called. Even though I was the victim of “The First Goodbye,” I accepted my juice pouch and bee medal and sang along to the song. I think this was my fifth time being a guest speller and I always have a blast being part of the action of the first act.

Performances are Dec. 8, 9, 14 (Pay what you want night,) 15, 16, 17 matinee, 22, 23, 29, 30 , 31 for a New Year’s Eve gala. Tickets: https://ci.ovationtix.com/35926

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theater reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, and she posts well over 100 reviews each year. She became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle in 2016. Her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted in the Naugatuck Patch as well as the Patch sites closest to the venue. She is also a feature writer and theater reviewer for the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column IN THE WINGS and theater reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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