When was the last time you heard a musical with a truly hilarious book? Rachel Sheinkin has concocted such a thing for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, one of the most unexpected hits of 2005. Unfortunately, Sheinkin's wit is mostly lost on a cast album; fortunately, the show's songs are by the great William Finn. Set at the titular event, the musical never looks down on the competiting kids (played by adult actors), instead portraying them as endearingly nerdy but also smart, and endowing them with real personalities rather than predictably spelling-bee tics. The cast is uniformly superb, although personal faves include Sarah Saltzberg, playing Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre with a delicious lisp ("Woe Is Me"); Jesse Tyler Ferguson, bringing sweet innocence to Leaf Coneybear ("I'm Not That Smart"); and Dan Fogler, in a breakout comic performance as William Barfee ("Magic Foot," sounding like a sly tribute to Kander & Ebb). This show may be small in scale, but it's a huge winner. --Elisabeth Vincentelli Other Great Musicals of the Season
You are probably looking at the title of this review and thinking, "What in the WORLD?" Or something to that effect.I was in this show as Rona Lisa Peretti August of 2013 and I have to say that it is one of the funniest shows I have ever been in! The music is fun to sing, with rock and pop styles. The script and song lyrics are not only funny, they are witty and clever. The show may seem a bit odd at first(and it is!) but I PROMISE you, it will keep you lau..
I bought this CD for rehearsals because I will be in a local production of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee". I listen to it in the car as I take my kids to their various activities, and now they love the songs, too! (In fact, they'll have the lyrics memorized before I will!) The CD is about various kids competing in a spelling bee, and it tells their individual quirky and poignant stories. Some of the songs make me laugh out loud, some m..
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