'Spelling Bee' Stings the Funny Bone

V-I-V-A-C-I-O-U-S. Vivacious: one of the ways to describe "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," directed by Richboro native Brendan Stackhouse.

The Once Upon A Time Players are at it again in this comedic musical, which puts a spotlight on everybody’s favorite period of growth. That’s right; it’s about six pre-pubescent tweens.

In one way or another, every character is a misfit. From Logainne, played by Molly Barson, and her dorky pigtails and lisp to Leaf Coneybear, played by John Alati, and his extremely strange superhero attire and Tourette syndrome-like way of spelling words — it’s clear just by looking at them.

But all characters struggle with things normal kids of that age do such as sexuality, seeking the approval of parents and fighting tooth-and-nail to avoid being labeled a loser.

As the play goes on, the audience learns tidbits about spellers via facts before they spell a word, flashbacks or breaks from reality, shown by a drastic change in lighting.

The production is also highly interactive; the audience plays the part of the spelling bee audience, and is asked to applaud at appropriate moments. But what’s more interactive is that three audience members actually view the show from onstage and get turns at spelling words, although they inevitably get a word wrong and are pointed back to their seat, juice box in hand.

Donna Glerum, whose daughter Valerie played one of the spelling bee hosts, was one of the audience members who ended up onstage. “It was really different that way,” Glerum said. “You may [tend] to focus on the person talking, but there’s other funny things going on onstage that you may not notice.”

Characters not only dance, sing and speak at scripted moments, but they seem to have improvised moments too. To those afraid of attention being drawn to themselves: don’t expect to attend this production without being serenaded or hit on by an actor playing a tween who gets a rather embarrassing problem for a boy that age.

In the end, all the children take something valuable from the experience and learn that winning isn’t everything.

Barson said one of the appeals of the production is the ease to which others can relate to the characters. “[Logainne] kind of shares a lot of my ideals about being politically active and dealing with the struggles of being adolescent,” said Barson, who is a senior at Council Rock South. “[It’s] absolutely hilarious and just a fun time for the audience and for the people onstage.”

Stackhouse — an arts and administration sophomore at Wagner College in Staten Island — nabbed the rights to use the production so he could share it with his community. He said the goal is "to provide maximum entertainment for minimum cost." Most of the cast are his peers from high school or college, too.

The production was meticulously planned for the Once Upon A Time Players.

“I picked the show in February, got the rights in March, auditioned in March and started rehearsals last Sunday,” Stackhouse said, describing the quick process in which the performance was put together.

The venue, the Village Library of Wrightstown Township, seats 40, although some of the audience is incorporated onto the stage. Performances cost $5 and are at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.