A night at the Spelling Bee!

[morgan79]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 9:42pm

I was really excited to see this show, and it did not disappoint. Going down the escalator at the Circle in the Square, there are cute school-ish posters on the walls that really make you feel young again. We tried to sign up to be a speller, and one of our applications made it into a small pile which we presumed to be the YES! pile, but our names weren't called. It was okay, we enjoyed the show tremendously! Lisa Howard was out for the night, and Lisa Yuen filled in for her. She did a fantastic job! I loved Derrick Baskin as Mitch...even though he had what at first seemed to be a small part, he was very enjoyable. Deborah Craig was very believable and had a great voice. One of my favorites had to be Jesse Ferguson who was just hilarious as Leaf. One of the best parts of the show was when only one young audience member speller was left and he exchanged some taunting with Dan Fogler...totally ad libbed and hilarious. The kid spelled the word right he was supposed to get wrong, so they called him up again and gave him a seventeen syllable word. Pretty funny. I really enjoyed Celia Keenan Bogler too as Olive. Jose Llana was awesome! Sarah Saltzberg was okay for me. All in all, I found the show to be HILARIOUS, so much fun and much better than I expected. I met everyone from the cast outside the theater and everyone signed my playbill and was really friendly. This show is a MUST!

[Conor]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 9:44pm

I love the way they have the lobby set up, it's really fun!

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 9:46pm

It's a great show with a great cast . . . whats the problem here?

NOTHING!

[theaterlover45]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 9:48pm

I definitely agree with you about all of it. My favorite was Deborah Craig she had a really good voice. Too bad you didnt see Lisa Howard she was awsome I loved her singing! O Well hope the Ms. Peretti (sp?) you saw was good.

[Born2cthelightsofbway]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 9:51pm

Glad you enjoyed the show!!! Its so much fun!

[broadway betty]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 10:13pm

Aww, you missed Lisa Howard. I love her, she's so funny and I think her voice is so pretty. Bee is so much fun, definitely the funniest show of the season. Great cast!

[theaterlover45]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 10:14pm

Me too!

[stagebeauty]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 10:18pm

i loved the spelling bee! i loved Leaf!!

where the heck was the stage door? i definitely couldnt find it [very ashamed]

[broadway betty]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 10:23pm

They exit through the lobby like the common folk. Except for Dan, he sneaks out another way.

[ShuQ]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 10:37pm

He NEVER comes out through the lobby?

[broadway betty]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 10:45pm

I'm sure he comes out sometime but he didn't when I was there and alot of people have said he snuck out another way when they went.

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 11:11pm

"The Stagedoor" is technically though the lobby but apparently there is another way out

[spellingbee_ROCKS007]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 11:12pm

spelling bee rocked!!i agree...Lisa Howard does have a pretty voice!!the whole cast was great!!glad you liked it!!

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 8/21/05 at 11:23pm

couple things to mention..

I saw the show yesterday afternoon for the 3rd time and Lisa Howard was out then too. Lisa Yuen was an apt sub, very nice voice, maybe not quite as great, but def fine for the part. Very funny thing I caught...the for Ms. Yuen, the name of Rona Lisa Marie Peretti was changed to something like Rona Lisa Xhau Xhau Peretti.

At my show, a little kid got 2 really hard words right, and everyone--cast, principal, pianist were looking at him shocked. It was great.

Yes, stage door is in the lobby--most of the actors go through the door that is "aisle 1." I saw Dan go in through the lobby, and don't know where he came out, but we saw him when we went out and he signed and chatted. Going in is probably the funniest as the whole cast walks through and rides the escalator w/ the audience and hardly anyone notices, they only notice Dan.

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 8/22/05 at 12:04am

It's a shame you missed Howard, she was definitely my favorite part of the show. I'd be interesting in seeing Yuen as I saw her as Marcy and didn't think her voice was that strong and I have trouble imagining her as Ms. Peretti. I'm glad you enjoyed her, though. Judging from the understudy video, she seems to have good comic timing needed for the role. This show is definitely becoming one of my current favorites. "The I Love You Song" is fantastic.
Updated On: 8/22/05 at 12:04 AM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/22/05 at 2:42am

if you wait like 15 minutes, dan comes out... at least that's what happened to me.
but i was so mad, i missed jesse! people said he had somewhere he had to go, but ahhhh, he was my favorite! oh and morgan, at the show i went to, the audience member spelled everything right as well, and then they were forced to give him some incredibly impossible word-really funny.
all in all, spelling bee is one of my fave shows currently on bway. along with rent, and piazza.

[neocomposer]

Posted: 8/22/05 at 3:01am

i wanna be a speller! it would be my grand broadway debut.


edit: or not so grand, lol...

Updated On: 8/22/05 at 03:01 AM

[TheHumanTorch]

Posted: 8/22/05 at 10:54am

how was Jesse Tyler Ferguson in person? I absolutely loved him on stage, and he seems like a really cool guy... just wonderin'

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/22/05 at 10:59am

Jesse is lovely; sweet, friendly and funny.

Lisa Howard's been doing a Fringe show; maybe that's why she was out.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 8/22/05 at 11:02am

Yep, Lisa is playing Ruth AND Catherine Martin in Silence! right now, so she's taking vacation days from Bee when there's a schedule clash.

[Creative Lunatic]

Posted: 8/22/05 at 11:59am

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to correct a misconception and answer some of your other questions in this thread. The main entrance through the Lobby at Circle in The Square is not The Stage Door.
Dan Fogler is in fact the only actor who exits through the official stage door and is not sneaking out. Entrance is around the side . Ask the theater manager and they will direct you. I have seen this show countless times and can tell you that Dan happily signs, takes pictures and talks with all who are at that entrance and often comes around to front to meet with other cast and those who are still milling around.
Lisa Howard just took the matinee and evening performances Saturday to do Silence The Musical which I saw and is quite outrageous .The show will probably have a life beyond The Fringe. Lisa has no other conflict with the Fringe schedule so will be in all upcoming Spelling Bee shows.
Jesse is a fabulous person as is every member of that cast.
You couldn't find nine more unassuming and dedicated actors. I love each and everyone of them.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 8/22/05 at 12:13pm

Hmmmm..
How do you spell S-H-I-L-L?

[Creative Lunatic]

Posted: 8/22/05 at 12:25pm

I thought my post would actually be helping people because I had accurate information. I won't post again if Princeton's response is indicative . People asked where the stage door was, if Lisa would be out and what Jesse was like.
I guess I misunderstood what people were looking for when they asked questions.
Thanks for enlightening me Princeton.