The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
★★★★☆ Ode to Pubescence
Paradise in Augustines (Venue 152): Fri 2 – Sat 10 Aug 2024
Review by Cyril Langston
The Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group return to the Fringe with The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a joyful exploration of adolescence and the pressures that get in the way of success at, Paradise in Augustines for Week One.
The show, with music and lyrics by William Finn and a book by Rachel Sheinkin, follows six children as they compete in the Putnam Valley Middle School spelling bee. As the bee progresses, the growing-pains that plague the contestants are slowly revealed.
Max Middleton and the cast of EUSOG’s Spelling Bee. Pic: Andrew Morris.
Played by a cast of adult actors under the co-direction of Beth Cunningham and Hunter King, the show is a silly and, at times, painful reminder of the reality of growing up.
The story starts with a flashback to Rona Lisa Perretti winning the 3rd Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee with the word “syzygy”. Now an adult, Perretti, played by Ellie Jackson, moderates the bee and sees herself in the contestants.
highly-strung
She’s joined in running the bee by the highly-strung Vice Principal Panch, played by Ollie Hiemann, and Roza Stevenson’s Mitch Mahoney, an ex-con who’s completing community service hours by acting as the comfort counsellor for eliminated spellers.
Richeldis Brosnan. Pic: Andrew Morris.
As the contestants whiz through spelling their words, they reveal stories from their lives and inner thoughts that affect their performance. Richeldis Brosnan’s shy new speller Olive Ostrovsky, with absent parents, spends much of the bee waiting for her father to arrive and claim the seat she’s been saving for him.
Hannah Whelan is confident and animated as Logainne Schwartzandgrubennierre, the head of her school’s Gay/Straight Alliance who proposed a constitutional amendment lowering the voting age to ten and faces pressure from her dads to win.
intense
Condescending and mucus-y William Barfée, portrayed by Max Middleton, uses his magic foot to spell out the words before saying them aloud and doesn’t care to make friends with the other contestants. Scarlett Lloyd-Dickenson is intense as the accomplished Marcy Park, unaffected by the other competitors.
Homeschooled Leaf Coneybear is just happy to be there. Having always been told he’s not smart, he goes into a spelling trance that guides him even when he thinks he doesn’t know the word. Boy Scout and baseball player Chip Tolentino, played by Luke Kevin, is the defending champion of the bee.
Ellie Jackson and cast members of EUSOG’s Spelling Bee. Pic Andrew Morris.
Four random audience members round out the cast and are called up to compete alongside the other contestants.
A strong opening from the band under MD, Emily Paterson, sets up the high-energy performance. With lots of opportunities for audience interaction and other fun surprises, the cast keeps the audience engaged. A rather out of place and lengthy rant about the 2024 American presidential election and some instances of struggling accent work distract a bit from the overall effect, but the charming and earnest performances from the cast bring it around again.
heartbreakingly clueless
Jamie Argo in particular stands out as the loveable, heartbreakingly clueless captain-of-his-own ship Leaf. Argo captures the wonder and anguish of being a kid. Hannah Whelan never falters from the distinctive and expressive mannerisms and voice work that define Logainne from the moment she steps on stage. All of the cast work well together to bring the world of Putnam County to life.
Full of snot, young love, sabotage and poorly-timed erections, EUSOG’s 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee delivers the awkwardness and joy that accompany barrelling into the teen years while charting your own path.
Running time: Two hours (including interval)
Paradise in Augustines, (The Sanctuary), 41 George IV Bridge, EH1 1EL (Venue 152)
Friday 2 – Saturday 10 August 2024
Daily: 14.15pm
Tickets and details: Book here.
Website: www.eusog.org
Instagram: @spellingbee.eusog
Facebook: EUSOG (Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group)
X: @EUSOG
TIKTOK: @spellingbee.eusog
Hannah Whelan and Luke Kevin in EUSOG’s Spelling Bee. Pic: Andrew Morris.
ENDS
