Show: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Society: Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Venue: Space Triplex
Credits: Beyond the Page Theatre Company, West Potomac High School
Type: Sardines
Author: Chris Abbott
Performance Date: 11/08/2015
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Chris Abbott | 11 Aug 2015 18:31pm
It’s often said that every musical needs a nine o’clock number, that song that wakes up a jaded audience and lifts the whole show to a new level. Something of the same happened to me more than halfway through my week of reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was a production from Beyond the Page Theatre Company, based at West Potomac High School and part of the impressive American High School Theatre Festival.
Standards are always impressive with this section of the festival as productions have to reach a high standard to be selected. This production, however, turned out to be quite simply stunning – the perfect choice of show for a US high school group who would totally understand the characters, and playing in a small venue, with mostly unamplified audiences and minimal props but total commitment.
Director and Choreographer Philip Lee Clark has a wealth of musical theatre experience and it is good to see this being passed on to these talented young people. With sensitive musical direction from Cathy Manley, the whole cast were strong, even those who had to play much older characters, mostly parents or teachers. Austin Harlow made a totally believable teacher with a past and drove the action forward with his crisp management of the spelling bee itself, well supported by Emily Carbone as a confident Rona.
The contestants, of course, were much nearer in age to those playing them, and all opportunities were seized with both hands. Frankie Manazan in a subtle performance as Marcy hinted effectively at the tensions in her family, and David Jarzen was a confident Chip, coping well with lyrics that would faze many a performer. Hunter Harlow’s Barfee was a well thought-out performance, not just physically awkward but showing the emotional hurt beneath. As Schwarzy, Lorna Ryan not only produced a rounded character but interacted effectively with her two Dads.
It was impossible not to watch Julian Worth as Leaf whenever he was on stage, but again this was not just a physical performance but one that did have its subtleties as the story developed. Keeping the losing contestants in order was Mitch, on community service, in a beautifully modulated and understated performance from Aubrey Blount that was all the more effective against the eccentricities of the contestants.
And finally, left to last quite deliberately, is Emma Norville as Olive. Effective and watchable throughout, she picked up the show and took it to a new level in her song about her love for her absent mother. As she sang her heart out, tears in her eyes, most of those around me were deeply affected by this stunning performance.
The whole show was full of things to admire; but you will have to take my word for it as, sadly, this was the last performance. If you want to know how much it means for these students to come to Edinburgh, read their words on the company website. And look out for them next year…
- : admin
- : 11/08/2015