Spelling Bee in NC Matinee (1/6/08) SPOILERS (and very long)

[seaweedjstubbs]

Posted: 1/6/08 at 10:06pm

May I start by saying that I have no idea why this show is closing? It put a smile on my face from beginning to end and it's better than A LOT of the stuff that's on Broadway today.

That being said, I had an absolutely wonderful time at the Bee today! The entire cast was so energetic and great, I wanted to come on stage with them! They made a lot of local references. One of the funniest was definately, "Our usual pronouncer Clay Aiken couldn't be here tonight. He had a date with his girlf-- I mean boyfri-- oh, nevermind!" That got a huge response from the Raleigh audience! One of the audience spellers was about ten or eleven. He was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers. This is what he got when he approached the mike: "Mr (I forgot his name) got into a fight with his mother this morning about his clothes. He said "It's just a spelling bee mom, it's not like I'm going to a Broadway show!" HAHA! Also, during the moment where Mr. Panch loses his cool, Logainne blurted "This spelling bee is about as suprising as the Iowa caucases! Me and my dads have been having trouble choosing a candidate with all of the celebrity endorsements. With Streisand for Hilary, Oprah for Obama, and Chuck Norris, "Walker Texas Ranger" for Huckabee--looks like he got the short end of the stick! In the end we'll probably go with Oprah. Maybe she'll add him to her favorite things! 'You get Barack Obama, You get Barack Obama! (in Oprah voice) EVERYBODY GETS OBAMA!!!!!!!!!" HILARIOUS!

On to the cast:

RONA LISA PERETTI (Roberta Duchak): I knew she was going to be great from the moment she stepped into the theatre. She did not dissapoint. Her voice was beautiful and clear. She had just the right amount of perkiness for Ms Peretti without being annoying. When a late-comer walked in, she stopped and said "Alright, we have a late-comer to my left. We'll just wait until you sit down. The bee started at 2:00, thank-you!" She was great!

DOUGLAS PANCH (James Kall): He was definately a scene-stealer! Some of the biggest laughs came from the readings of the definitions and sentences. Although they are funny alone, you need the right person to do it, and he hit the nail on the head! He reminded me a lot of the original Mr. Panch.

MITCH MAHONEY (Kevin Smith Kirkwood): He was one of the weak points. When he sang, it sounded like he was straining a bit, but he riffed the heck out of "Prayer of the Guidance Counselor"! I think it takes a lot for two words to create so much laughter, but he did it with "Git up!" I'm sure he's a great performer by himself, but when surrounded by the rest of the cast, his performance was forgettable.

CHIP TOLENTINO (Justin Keyes): I think that because I saw a video of the show with the original cast before I saw it live, I expected more from him. He was still great, but "My Unfortunate Erection" kind of fell flat.......and that's kind of hard to do with a song like that. It also seemed like he talked through a lot of the song, which bugged me. He was hilarious as Jesus though!

LOGAINNE SCHWARTZANDGRUBENIERRE (Dana Steingold): SHE WAS AWESOME! I ended up really caring for Olive, even though I knew what the outcome of the play would be. She was definately one of the high points of the play! I can't say enough good things about her, so I'll stop here.

LEAF CONEYBEAR (Andrew Keenan-Bolger): Once again, after seeing the video of the original, it felt like there was something missing from his performance. I think someone else had mentioned that he looked too young, and I agree. I still enjoyed him. He's got a great voice.

WILLIAM BARFEE (Eric Roediger): Another high point! He was hilarious throughout the entire show. "Magic Foot" was one of the best songs of the night! A+ PERFORMANCE!

OLIVE OSTROVSKY (Vanessa Ray): Once again, another knock-out performance! As with Logainne, I ended up caring about Olive. Vanessa's heart-filled performance of "The I Love You Song" was my favorite. She reminded me of so many girls that I've met throughout my school years.

MARCY PARK (Katie Boren): I loved her! Her performance was another very realistic potrayal. I rejoiced along with her when she finally let loose. I missed the line "Jesus? I knew you were asian!" I was hoping they would figure out a way to modify the line so that it would make since ('cuz Chip was black). Either way, the conversation between Marcy and Jesus was another highlight.

If you were having any doubts about seeing the tour, GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!!!!!!!! It was definately one of my most favorite days at the theatre!

[CapnHook]

Posted: 1/6/08 at 10:19pm

I *almost* went to both the matinee and then the evening, but I didn't have the $20 for a rush ticket.

A friend went, though, to the evening (closing perf. in Raleigh) and LOVED it as well.

[karen24]

Posted: 1/6/08 at 10:32pm

Thanks for the review!
Is this the same cast that will be coming to Rochester, NY soon? I have been debating whether or not to get tickets. It's playing at the Auditorium Theater which is sort of a barn, and I was worried that the show would be lost in there. I guess I can try to get seats as close as possible...
Karen

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 1/6/08 at 10:51pm

Thanks so much for your review! I would do anything to see this show with that touring cast! I have heard all positive things! That cast is so wonderful!

[yellibean2]

Posted: 1/6/08 at 10:52pm

I'm glad you liked it. I would really like to see the tour cast, but I missed it in Providence which is pretty much the closest it's coming to here (I saw it a ton of times in the Boston sit-down but it's been about a year since I had my Bee dosage). But I've been watching Andrew's video blog which is really adorable.

And for a moment of total immaturity....
"My Unfortunate Erection" kind of fell flat...
LMAO.

[Gobstopper]

Posted: 1/7/08 at 12:34am

I'm so excited to be seeing this in May! Center of Row B, too, which is probably the best seats I've ever had to ANYTHING!

[nothatgirl]

Posted: 1/9/08 at 2:24pm

I am also at a loss at why the bee is leaving b-way, it is one of those shows that stick with you. I saw the touring preformance in Jacksonville, FL and I thought the whole cast was brillant. I do agree with you that Kevin Kirkwoods preformance was sub-par to the rest of the cast but as for Andrew Keenan-Bolger I couldnt disagree with you more! He absolutly stole the show in my opinion. I was mesmerized by him everytime he was front and center. Vanassa Rey was stellar as Olive- better than the original casting. I so enjoyed it and would love to see it again!!

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 4:37pm

I saw the show for the first time last night in Buffalo, NY.
LOVED IT!

Don't have time to write a full review, so thought I'd forward the review from the local paper.

GREAT SHOW!

=====================

¡®Spelling Bee¡¯ a worthy tribute to teens
By Colin Dabkowski NEWS STAFF REVIEWER
Updated: 01/16/08 6:50 AM

They are the slightest bit bizarre.

They¡¯re also talented, shy, smart, allergic, insecure and wildly ambitious. In short, they¡¯re teenagers. And in the touching production of ¡°The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,¡± which came to Shea¡¯s on Tuesday night, they¡¯re given a worthy tribute.

This show, which is about to close on Broadway after a successful three-year run, is a welcome and satisfying peek into one of the great American rituals. It follows a county spelling bee from start to finish, with all the attendant ups, downs and fears and foibles.

Its characters ¡ª the uberconfident though variously afflicted William Barfee, the caped and insecure William Coneybear, the friendless and underloved Olive Ostrovsky ¡ª are all imbued with an impressive amount of pathos and depth for a show that lasts less than two hours.

Somewhere along the line, producers of Hollywood movies and Broadway musicals alike seemed to forget that it was possible to produce a feel-good piece of work without resorting to hackneyed conventions and syrupy stories. The conventional logic is dumbing down the final product so that even Joe Teenager can enjoy it.

But it turns out Joe Teenager is a lot smarter than he is given credit for, and this show does all that one Broadway production can to rescue us from the stifling notion that uplifting, heartwarming work can¡¯t appeal to a huge age range.

This show also accomplishes a surprisingly successful implementation of audience participation ¡ª a concept that is almost always sure to fail. Four volunteers, selected from the audience before the show, were brought onstage. They included local morning deejay Larry Norton, who managed to stay in the show the longest (he spelled ¡°Mexicans¡± correctly but couldn¡¯t quite wrap his brain around a tougher word).

Performances from this talented cast are all top-notch, especially from Eric Roediger as the cantankerous Barfee, Vanessa Ray as Olive Ostrovsky, Andrew Keenan-Bloger as Leaf Coneybear and Roberta Duchak as Rona Lisa Peretti. What limits the audience¡¯s full enjoyment of these talented performers ¡ª and the impact of the show in general ¡ª is an excessively tinny and substandard sound quality that renders some voices far away and empty.

Some of the funniest bits came from introductions by Peretti, who poked fun at one audience volunteer wearing a rather loud dress by noting that her parents bought the dress so as not to lose her in the mall.

The set of the show professes itself as ¡°a bully-free zone,¡± but it becomes an arena in which the nascent fears and ambitions of its occupants are communicated with rare clarity and effectiveness.

¡°Spelling Bee¡± is that rare musical that celebrates the weird, wild world of teenage quirks. And does so beautifully.

Theater Review ¡° The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee¡±

¡ï¡ï¡ï 1/2 Stars out of 4

Opened Tuesday night and continues through Sunday in Shea¡¯s Performing Arts Center, 646 Main St. For more information, visit www.sheas.org.

[DeadParrot2]

Posted: 1/17/08 at 4:56pm

This is such a great show, but how unfortunate it had to play in such a large theatre in Raleigh. I was fortunate enough to see it from a good seat, but I would have hated to see this show from the back row. Very clever and fun though.

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 12:18am

Yeah...it was in a large theater here too, but it was full!

Funny how they use so little of the actual stage for the show, and somehow it still works!

Eric Roediger as Barfee, and Andrew Keenan-Bloger as Leaf Coneybear were the standouts for me!

All in all a pleasant little surprise!!

[DeadParrot2]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 1:08am

Andrew's got his own blog on Youtube. He's been recording his adventures on the road while doing Spelling Bee. Its actually really cute.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/18/08 at 1:22am

http://www.wnymedia.net/news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=336

http://www.niagara-gazette.com/statenews/cnhinsall_story_016162039.html