For the kids who spend their days dreaming of Putnam County Spelling Bee glory, words are the things that set them free.
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” in a tender production from Foothill Music Theatre, understands what it means to be the underdog. The musical is a tribute to the awkwardness of being different, kids who read the dictionary with urgent ferocity. But behind the competitive spirit that comes with devouring Latin and Greek roots are stories of kids who overcompensate with the hope of being “normal.”
The story, with a concept from Rebecca Feldman, book by Rachel Sheinkin and music and lyrics from William Finn, is a big hooray for the underdog. There are no varsity quarterbacks or Olympic hopefuls among these quirkmasters, just a heaping of outcasts who believe their lot in life rests on words like capybara and tittup.
Local realtor Rona Lisa Peretti (Sarah Bylsma, doubling as the choreographer) is a former champion of this particular bee, when the word “szygy” propelled her toward providing similar glory for other young spelling hopefuls. The spelling kids arrive with various expectations, outfits and modes of transportation, along with backstories that provide the heartbeat of what makes the piece such a joy. Peretti’s sidekick is Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Doug Brook), who dishes out words (cow) and context sentences (Spell “cow.”) throughout the bee, engaging with the characters and with audience members selected as contestants. The comfort counselor Midge Mahoney (Naomi Murray), doing community service, sends defeated spellers out the door and into their post-word world.
The direction of Milissa Carey is both joyful and playful, along with Bylsma’s choreography that utilizes a very colorful scenic design from Lynn Grant. The vivid palette of colors comes from an effective lighting plot from Pamila Gray and inventive costumes designed by Y. Sharon Peng.
The characters are as colorful as their costumes. There is intellect-challenged Leaf Coneybear (Andrew Cope); perfection-starved multilinguist Marcy Park (Crystal Gallardo); Chip Tolentino (Ryan Liu), who is wrestling with unfortunate puberty timing’ LGBTQ+ ally extraordinaire Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Melissa Momboisse); William Barfee (Daniel Rees McDonald), whose constant mispronunciation of his name is vomit-inducing; and Olive Ostrovsky (Mackenzie Macdonald), a timid little charmer who mysteriously arrives at the bee with no parents and zero money for the entry fee.
While not every individual voice has the same clean consistency, the blend of harmonies that is the musical’s hallmark is pleasing. Bylsma’s warm register and motherly charm come through terrifically, while Momboisse pairs delightful vocals and strong character commitment for her Logainne.
What always works for the piece is the genuine heartbreak one feels when the bell cuts the soul, leading to the knowledge that the time has concluded for these kids you root for. Cope’s discovery as the underdog Leaf that he is finished comes with its own devastation, as he’s maybe the most likeable character in the musical next to Liu’s Chip, who wins a lot of hearts with his smooth voice and free candy distribution.
The denouement of the musical bears down, allowing both Barfee and Olive to bring the piece home, and where some of the show’s best music lives. Any successful production of “Spelling Bee” begins and ends with “The I Love You Song,” one of the most devastating opuses in all of musical theater, a vicious definition of the word “chimerical” if there ever was one. Macdonald’s eyes are full of raw emotion as she harmonizes with Milovan Bogdanic and Lucy Nino as her dad and mom, respectively.
The emotions of that moment carry over structurally to a new friendship between Olive and Barfee. McDonald is consistently funny throughout, going from confident competitor to vulnerable new friend.
There are plenty of lessons that come with kids living inside the pressure cooker of precocious activities. What these kids in “Spelling Bee” are really after are solid friends they can simply snack and spell with. While that may be the greatest lesson of the musical, that doesn’t mean they don’t want to flagellate their opponent, even if they are dealing with cystisis. After all, ahimsa is always the goal.
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” runs through March 15 at Foothill College’s Lohman Theatre, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills Tickets are $35-$44 at foothill.edu/theatre.
David John Chávez is a former chair of the American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association, a 2020 O’Neill National Critics Institute fellow, and a two-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2022-23). @davidjchavez.bsky.social
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