UNSW Musical Theatre Society: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - Review by Chelsea Holland

Unlike most people in the audience for UNSW Musical Theatre Society’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee yesterday (at least by anecdotal polling), I know the show inside and out, having worked on two productions of it previously and seeing the original on Broadway numerous times while I was living in NYC. One of the best parts of this show, however, is even more than most live theatre, it is never the same performance twice and holds up beautifully to multiple viewings. This is because the show is structured to use four volunteer spellers from the audience and a heap of improv. It might be the same winner every performance, but the journey to get there is always a surprise!

As you might imagine, this makes rehearsing the show a bit of a challenge, but director Cam McCredie was clearly up for it. His actors confidently rolled with the unpredictable elements and steered the audience volunteers brilliantly. This was a well-oiled machine with a strong vision that brought the most out of this character-driven musical. There were even a couple fun nods to other hot musicals like Wicked and Six, which was another way to keep this version fresh.

And Nikolas Villa Zielinski did a fantastic job with their debut as a Music Director. The small black box theatre was filled with gorgeous harmonies and the ensemble numbers were highlights for this reason.

Spelling Bee does contain one of my favourite musical theatre songs ever – the simply titled “The I Love You Song.” Kayla Ingle-Olson as Olive Ostrovsky did an incredible job leading this touching number with her powerful vocals. Her plaintive cries of “mama, mama, mama” gave me goosebumps. Bronwyn Dyer and Ellis Pinkerton superbly backed her up as Olive’s parents but also shone in other roles.

Pinkerton played Chip Tolentino who gets eliminated early from an unfortunate incident, which is best not spoiled. But it was his cameo as a smouldering Jesus that made me laugh until I cried!

Dyer, as Rona Lisa Peretti, formed half of the duo that gets most of the improv lines, along with Matthew De Meyrick as Vice Principal Douglas Panch. Both were hysterical, with De Meyrick mastering keeping a straight face through some of the most ridiculous gags and Dyer playing off him with eye rolls and looks of horror. They were handed a comedy gift at the performance I saw when a pair of twins made up half the volunteer spellers.

Aya Adel belted her heart out as perfectionist Marcy Park. She hit all the right notes both in her standout song, “I Speak Six Languages,” and in her take on the character. Tessa Marsden was thoroughly entertaining as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, lisping her way through some poignant quips about Australian politics. Alexander Whitbourn brought a lot of physical comedy to his role as William Barfee, both in his magic foot moves and how he held himself on stage. His scenes with Ingle-Olson were my favourites, showing a funny, sweet side that contrasted with his otherwise larger-than-life character.

Joss Arkley-Smith had the audience eating out the palm of his hand between his energetic antics and charming smiles. They truly embodied this whimsical character and didn’t hold anything back. Rohana Utamchandani rounded out the cast as a bad-ass comfort counsellor, Mitch Mahoney, complete with smooth R&B-style riffs. I was only sad that I didn’t get to see her do more, because the gender swap of the character didn’t allow her to do the other roles typically assigned to this track. But swapping gender absolutely paid off in this instance.

The technical elements were all strong and suited the size of the space. If I were to make the smallest quibble it would be that, with otherwise excellent American accents, a couple actors used the Australian pronunciation of “H” while spelling, but I doubt that would be noticeable to anyone other than an expat such as myself.

As McCredie puts in his Director’s Note, this is a show about misfits doing what they love. We see every character overcome adversity and although only one person can win the bee, they all come out as winners. And every person who managed to score a ticket to this sold-out production is also a winner, as we get an evening to just laugh, have a great time, and maybe think about how our adolescent passions got us to where we are today. Recommended to anyone who needs a pick-me-up right now!