Reviewed by Judy Richter
It's never easy to grow up,
especially as one enters early adolescence. William Finn (music and lyrics), Rachel
Sheinkin (book)
and Rebecca Feldman (concept) encapsulate much of the angst of that age in "The
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." San Jose Repertory Theatre is staging this musical comedy to
conclude the last season planned by Timothy Near, who has been easing out of her
post as artistic director to turn to freelancing. Near also directs the
topnotch cast of local actors.
The
premise is simple: Six youngsters are finalists in Putnam County's 25th annual
spelling bee, which takes place in the high school's gym (set by Robert
Broadfoot with
lighting and projections by David Lee Cuthbert and costumes by Shigeru Yaji). Each has a different story.
Chip Tolentino (Marc de la Cruz), last year's champion, expects to repeat, but he's
distracted, to say the least ("My Unfortunate Erection"), by a girl in the
audience. Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (the pert Molly Bell) has two fathers and faces a
moral dilemma when one of them encourages her to put a rival at a disadvantage.
Leaf Coneybear (the antic Clifton Guterman), the home-schooled son of flower children,
doesn't have much confidence because he's there by default. William Barfee (Mark
Farrell) is
plagued by a chronic nasal condition and a rather large ego. Marcy Park (Sophie
Oda) is an
overachiever burdened by her Asian parents' expectations of perfection. Olive
Ostrovsky (a wistful Dani Marcus) is emotionally neglected by her mother, who has gone to
an ashram in India, and her father, who is consumed by anger at his absent
wife.
Adults
overseeing the proceedings are Rona Lisa Peretti (Alison Ewing, who keeps her character's ego
in check), a previous winner who serves as emcee; Douglas Panch (Steve Irish), a former vice principal who
gives out the words and keeps his cool most of the time; and Mitch Mahoney (Berwick
Haynes), who is
performing his required community service as the comfort counselor, handing out
juice boxes as contestants fall by the wayside. Some of the actors play lesser
characters, too. The spellers are supplemented by three volunteers from the
audience.
Everyone's
story gradually unfolds in this light-hearted yet serious look at the problems
of growing up. The show also is a subtle examination of the pressures put on
today's young people and our society's obsession with winning. Near, aided by
musical director Dolores Duran-Cefalu (who conducts from the keyboard) and by assistant
director and movement consultant Amanda Folena, brings out those undertones
while maintaining a fast pace and finding all the comic moments, which are
many. She also allows each character to maintain his or her dignity. The show
was so well received by San Jose audiences during its initial performances that
it has been extended for a week.
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