✭Matinée Wednesday: Round Twelve…
Never was there a cuter musical comedy than The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I had seen the television spots and was always interested in seeing the show, but it came down to one motivating factor that prompted @SimTilver to purchase the tickets. We went with @Pasty on a day that I was supposed to be traveling back to school. I had been home for a long weekend, or something like that, and rather than go back to school, I extended my holiday so that I could attend this show. I made an excellent life choice — who wouldn’t choose Broadway over books? Am I right? Of course I am.
This production was at the Circle in the Square theatre, which, as the name suggests, is in the round. The configuration of the theatre allows for plenty of audience interaction which works well for this particular show as the audience is, for the actors, the spectators of the spelling bee. At various points in the show, the actors put audience members on the spot and bring them up on stage and test their spelling prowess. Thankfully, I was not called upon, for if I was, I would make a complete and utter fool of myself. Despite being an English major in college, spelling was never a strong suit of mine.
The 2005 Broadway production racked up plenty of accolades and awards, including the TONY for “Best Book.”
