‘Spelling Bee’ Is a Success

Theater Review

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” which opened Friday night at the Pierson Playhouse is the perfect example of a successful community theater show.
Produced for Theatre Palisades by Palisadians Shirley Churgin and Martha Hunter, with local talent Dorothy Blue and David Holguin and local extras, such as Bank of America manager John Lange, this Tony-award winning Broadway show provides a delightful evening of song and laughs.
The “Spelling Bee” is based on a fictional contest in the Putnam Valley Middle School gymnasium. Three eccentric adults run the Bee that includes six quirky adolescents. Four audience members are chosen to come on stage and participate as other contestants.
Vice principal Douglas Panch, played by Holguin, announces the words that spellers are expected to tackle, and provides definitions, which are often played for laughs. For example, the character Leaf Coneybear, played with the right amount of spaciness by Blue, is asked to spell capybara, acouchi and chinchilla, all of which are described as a South American rodent. When asked the definition of capybara, Panch describes it as a South American rodent about four feet in length. His sentence using the word is the same as the definition—providing no help for the contestant—all silly, all fun. It would be interesting to see the show again to see how much is scripted and how much Holguin is improvising.
One of the audience members was asked to spell “cow” and another “Mexican,” which prompted cast members to complain about an unfair word list, as they spelled words such as “elanguescence” and “weltanschauung.”
Absolutely spectacular with an amazing voice was Candice Courtney (Olive Ostrovsky), who plays a child whose parents are the antithesis of helicopter parenting. Her mother was in India, her father never showed for the competition.
Kana Koinuma (Marcy Park) not only sings, but also twirls baton, performs a cartwheel and chops a board in half with a martial-arts kick. Quite entertaining. Ariella Fiore was perfect as Maude Mahoney, who is on parole serving community service by comforting the losers. Blue, who directs Theatre Palisades youth productions, is all energy and lovely to watch. The actors work well as an ensemble
Directed by Palisadian Lewis Hauser, with Brian Murphy on the piano, this show deserves an audience. The “Bee” runs weekends through May 12. Visit: theatrepalisades.org or call (310) 454-1970 for ticket information.