How was the last Performance of Spelling Bee?

[Bill63]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 11:35pm

Please Report on the last Performance of Spelling Bee.

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 11:41pm

Here's the abriged version:

Funnier than ever before. There was tons of energy. The jokes on the audience spellers were funnier than I've seen. People laughed and clapped and cheered after every song and every joke. The audience was on its feet before the show ended. I saw a few of the original cast members in the audience. At the end one of the producers gave a pretty standard speech thanking the people who were involed in the show. (anyone know what that panda head he carried out was?) The cast was teary eyed in the end. It was sad to see it end but going to the last show was the perfect way to...I don't know sort of get closuer? Not that the show is a person or anything but you know what I mean. I got pictures with much of the cast afterwards. Everyone was so gracious and supportive.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 11:48pm

(anyone know what that panda head he carried out was?)

Adult Night.

[BwayLeadingLady]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 11:51pm

My review from the other thread:

I was most entertained by the girl who dressed up as a Spelling Bee, complete with antenna and a homemade shirt.

The show itself was normal, lots of entrance applause for almost everyone, huge clapping for the I Love You Song.

David Stone's final speech at the end of the show was incredibly monotonous- read off of notecards, with so little emotion. No wait- he started off emotional when he announced the score of the Giants-Packers football game. The rest was completely forgettable and just blah.

Updated On: 1/21/08 at 11:51 PM

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 1/20/08 at 11:59pm

Nevermind. Updated On: 1/21/08 at 11:59 PM

[tgn915]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 12:05am

The show was really fabulous.

I met Jennifer both before and after the show, she is one of the sweetest people I've met.

The show was so energetic and full of so much spark, understandably so. The only OBC member I saw was Jose, and I got a picture with him at the end only because he's the only OBC member I lacked having a pic with.

The producer DID, in fact, thank some of the OBC for "creating" the show.

I have a few pictures I took during the speech, some are kinda blurry but still cute.

The show was really fabulous and I enjoyed it completely. I'll miss it very much.

(Oh, and, PS...are Stanley and Aaron NOT the cutest broadway boys ever?!)

[BwayLeadingLady]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 12:10am

edited Updated On: 1/21/08 at 12:10 AM

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 12:45am

The show itself was amazing, but the speech was terrible. It had no emotion to it.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 12:50am

Updated On: 1/21/08 at 12:50 AM

[BwayLeadingLady]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 12:55am

My phrasing was bad, I apologize.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 12:57am

(Oh, and, PS...are Stanley and Aaron NOT the cutest broadway boys ever?!)

And Jared!

[verynewyorkcurious]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 2:18am

I have no idea what that panda head was, I thought he was gonna hand stuff out to the cast members!

I had not seen the show before tonight. It sucks that I won't be able to again, but I am glad to had been there on such an energetic night. The cast members were all great. Jenni Barber and Jennifer Simard sounded fantastic. Greta Lee was so funny and so cute. Her facial expressions were the best. Sara Inbar was Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre. She was fantastic.

The Circle In The Square is a wonderful theatre. It doesn't look like there's an obstructed-view seat in the house. The seats were also incredibly comfortable and the ushers were really nice. [title of show] should really consider it for their upcoming Broadway debut. Not too small, and the audience feels like they're close to the action.

Questions to people that were there tonight:

Ms. Rona Lisa Peretti said that the older audience bee speller was an off-spring of David Crosby and who? It got a big laugh from the crowd.

What did Ms. Rona Lisa Peretti say about the first girl who couldn't spell J-I-H-A-D? She said something funny, and the girl played along with it a little.

What was with that other audience member?..She looked angry on the stage.

Are there usually this many kids there? So many kids there tonight

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 5:15am

Said by ILoveMyDictionary:

Here's the abriged version:

It was sad to see it end but going to the last show was the perfect way to...I don't know sort of get closuer?

Honey, learn to love your dictionary A LOT MORE, and perhaps you can eventually learn how to SPELL.

anyone know what that panda head he carried out was?

As neddy said, the panda head was from Adult Night.

Oh, and, PS...are Stanley and Aaron NOT the cutest broadway boys ever?!

Stanley is beyond adorable. I absolutely adore him, and his Leaf was my favorite of the three.

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 10:22am

Ms. Rona Lisa Peretti said that the older audience bee speller was an off-spring of David Crosby and who? It got a big laugh from the crowd.

Colonel Mustard.

Yeah, I know Foster. It's just so hard to retain what I've learned from my dictionary when I'm exhausted from a great night of theatre. I apologize for my two spelling mistakes.

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 11:49am

I wish I was there. Damn parents.


P.S. Packers suck! Bears rule!

[MungoGypsy8232]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 12:10pm

Can anybody tell me how the matinee performance went? We got our directors tickets to see it as a director's gift, but they have weird taste in musicals (they hate Sondheim) so I'm alittle worried.

[Anakela]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 12:36pm

Are there usually this many kids there? So many kids there tonight

LOL that was actually my question too last night- granted it had been many many months since I was last at the Bee before last night, but I did not remember seeing that many kids there before. Best guess was it was because it's a holiday weekend this weekend, so that's why the kids were all out and about last night?

What did Ms. Rona Lisa Peretti say about the first girl who couldn't spell J-I-H-A-D? She said something funny, and the girl played along with it a little.

Was she the one who was the youngest cast member of The Vagina Monologues, or something like that?

The show last night was AMAZING- the cast was incredible, the audience was great, there was a total hold after The I Love You Song (which I might have cried during) because the crowd would not stop applauding, people were on their feet at the end before it went dark, etc. Amazing.

David Stone's speech was a little monotonous, but it just looked a little to me like he wanted to make sure he thanked *everyone,* and said exactly what he wanted to say with each thank you, hence the notecards and whatnot.

Regardless, I am so glad I was there- this was one of the first shows I saw when I moved to NY a couple of years ago, it's how I first met some BWW people 'in real life,' etc., and it's sad that this part of my life is no longer, but I was glad to have it while it lasted...just being there was winning.

[Pianist3912]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 1:09pm

My review:

“So I knew today was going to be a big day.” That’s the only way I could put it; I know the show was playing its final performance on Broadway, but at the same time, I was really excited to see the show one last time. My friend Meredith and I got to the Circle in the Square VERY early, so we did catch the stage door at Wicked next door, which by the way was for Carole Shelley’s last show I believe. I saw David Burnham, Stephanie J. Block, Annaleigh Ashford, Kathy Deitch, and other ensemble there. Stephanie sort of rushed off with Sebastian unexpectedly, though. Anyway, after having dinner, we got to the theatre and it was PACKED. Compared to when I saw the show in July, there were so many more people there than over the summer.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Opening): I LOVE JENN SIMARD. I think she’s the backbone of this cast, and from her first lines, she’s great. Her singing is awesome and her little girl voice for “syzygy” is so cute. I got immediately thrown back to the summer when I saw the show when Aaron J. Albano (Chip), Sara Inbar (Logainne), and Stanley Bahorek (Leaf) all ran up to the stage through the aisles. The whole song sounded great, especially the last part, where the drums are really loud, and Jenn has her strong vocals over the rest of the cast (the last “Twenty Fifth Annual…”).

Introduction/Spelling Bee Rules/My Favorite Moment of the Bee: So over the summer, I saw Darrell Hammond as Panch, and compared to Daniel Pearce, who was on today, he looked a LOT more composed. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing…just sayin’. I love James’s Mitch Mahoney, because he’s got the stature down to a T and looks extremely thuggish.

Spelling Begins/My Friend the Dictionary:
Jenni Barber’s voice is SO soft! If it were another show or character, I would complain about it being TOO soft, but for me it seems to work for her character. Jenni’s Olive is really a believable kid.

Spelling Part 2: Our guest spellers and their respective jokes/one-liners were HILARIOUS. I think I’ll just write what I remember here all in one section, cause I don’t remember the exact order of the spellers in the show. We had a grungy-ish teen guy with a slicked mohawk, a shy-looking college-aged (I’m assuming) girl with a thick accent, an elderly man who looked serious an intimidating with a horseshoe-type beard, and another semi-tall young woman. Some of the jokes were…

“Mister ___________ was raised by porcupines.”
“Mister ___________ has a rare disease where he thinks he’s in London in 1977.”
“Mrs. ___________ uses her fake accent to appear more worldly and for the financial aid.”
“Mr. _______ is the offspring of David Crosby and Colonel Mustard.”

There were more, but I can’t quite remember.

Pandemonium: Old man spells “cow” correctly. Cast has a fit. I see Jose Llana smiling in the audience. That is all.

I’m Not That Smart: I love Stanley’s Leaf so. much. I think he appears older than Barrett and Jesse, but his acting makes up for it. He is really good at doing the goofy thing. The audience was really enthusiastic, and everyone was laughing so much during this song…his “cadenza” thing he does with the finger monster is hilarious…he’s made this song his own for sure.

Magic Foot: Jared’s song! I so prefer his rendition of it to what I’ve heard of Dan Fogler’s renditions…his voice is better in my opinion. I noticed in this song that Marcy doesn’t have her frilly pink panties on like in I Speak Six Languages, so that made me wonder when she has the time to slip them on out of audience view. Anyway, this number was great, and I liked the blue lights on the stage and the glitzy lights around the “proscenium.”

Prayer of the Comfort Counselor: What was funny is that the kid at first got the made up word correct, and then got “Lysergic acid diethylamide” incorrect, prompting the Prayer. He had no clue, and his expression was priceless. Another funny part of this song was that he was in Standing Room, so the spellers just followed him up there and sat around him on the aisle stairs. James Monroe Iglehart’s high note on “Prayer” is always good, and Jenn’s high kick and high shrieks are hilarious.

My Unfortunate Erection: I was totally looking at Jose back and forth throughout this song. I didn’t get any candy, but Aaron still rocked this song, and his notes are so clear and powerful.

Woe Is Me: Sara seemed a bit off singing-wise in this song (very sharp in places), but she pulled it together. The last note was very good and clear. Her acting is spot-on, too. She IS Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre.

Fast and Slow Motion/I’m Not That Smart (Reprise): This is one of my favorite sequences in the show. It’s so sad when the audience collectively gasps and goes “aww” when Leaf misspells his word.

I Speak Six Languages: Greta was awesome. I saw Daniel Pearce really obviously hook the trophy table up at the end, though. Oh, and Jenn added a line after the song: ”…Especially the part with the piano! Reminds me so much of myself.” In fact, she added a lot of little ad-libs to the script. The audience laughed at her lines all the time, and pretty much, Jenn is amazing.

Panch’s Fit: Panch’s fit seemed a little different from the other time I saw Spelling Bee, but I can’t really explain specifically why.

The I Love You Song: SUCH A POWERFUL/SAD RENDITION. Wow, this song was so powerful, there are really no words to describe it. The look in Jenni, Jenn, and James’s eyes was just so impassioned, and then to see Jenni’s tears streaming down her face midway through was heartbreaking. After the song, the audience gave the strongest applause it had throughout the night, and it lasted for like 30 seconds!

Woe Is Me (Reprise): Another sad, sad song. Sara only squeaked out her first “goodbye.” Her moment of looking at Mitch with her face welling up with emotion before they hugged was probably the 2nd most powerful moment in the show.

‘Second’ Sequence/Finale: Jenni and Jared acted out this sequence perfectly. The audience went wild for their Pas de Deux. When the “champion” refrain came, it hit me that this was it. This was the end of the show. It made me sad. As usual, the epilogues were really funny, and their was a full standing ovation before the Finale even ended. After it DID end, the audience was still standing and cheering though the blackout.

After the show ended, David Stone, the show’s producer came out with a panda head (from Adult Night, apparently), to do his speech. It covered all the bases, but there was like no emotion there. Oh well, he has Wicked next door anyway. :-

So we all (as in the entire audience, haha) stage doored afterwards and I got my Playbill signed by the entire cast plus Jose Llana and Sarah Saltzberg, two original Broadway cast member of Spelling Bee. William Finn (Composer/Lyricist) was also there, in the lobby afterwards.

This was a night of theatre to remember, and so different from anything I’d experience before, being a closing of a show. Hopefully, Spelling Bee on Broadway will live on in our hearts and memories, and the National Tour will garner much success!
Updated On: 1/21/08 at 01:09 PM

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 1:23pm

How was the rush situation for Spelling Bee? What time did people start arriving?

[verynewyorkcurious]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 1:43pm

Anakela, thank you

Pianist3912, great great review. Reading it kinda replayed the night in my head, which I needed.

Daniel Pearce was great. Composed is what the role is all about. He was hilarious.

You were right, Jenni Barber's voice was way too soft last night.

The financial aid line was the best!

Some of the other jokes were:
"Mister __________ has a bowl of cereal, and a bottle of viagra every morning."
"Miss _________ started the production of the Vagina Monologues at her elementary school." (Thanks again, Anakela)

and there was

"Your word is cow."
-"Can I have a definition please?"
"Cow."
-"Can you use it in a setence?"
"Spell cow."

I don't know why you guys were expecting waterworks from the producer though. He probably came to terms that the show was closing a while ago. He was reading off note cards to make sure that he thanked everyone he needed to thank.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 1:56pm

veryny ~ that cow part always happened (or it did every time I saw it). It wasn't just a last night thing.

[tgn915]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 1:57pm

Amazing review, Pianist, I couldn't have said it any better myself. The only thing I'd add to it was that Pandemonium was pretty amazing last night. Maybe it was just where my ears were concentrating, but Aaron has never sung those last few lines like that any other time I've seen it. (But, then again, I'm quite partial to Aaron )

I'd just like to talk about how amazing this cast is, as people.

Jennifer Simard. Wow. She is the SWEETEST person I've met. I met her before the show on two occasions and yesterday, when she saw me, she gave me a big hug and took like..three different pics with me because she wasn't happy with the lighting. I gave her a letter before the show, and when I was saying goodbye to her after the show, she had already read it and was commenting on it. That really meant a lot to me.
It seems like a lot of these cast members really care about their fans. I met Aaron two weeks ago and introduced myself (my name is Travis, btw.) and we talked for a little while. Yesterday, when I met him, he was like "Hey! Travis, right?! It's so great to see you again!" and that made my heart just kinda stop, slap my face, and then continue again. He's the sweetest.
Stanley! The funniest, cutest, sweetest guy EVER. He acts just like Leaf and it is hysterical. I've had many conversations with him (not just at stage doors) and he is really a charmer.
Jared, of course, is such a sweetheart. I don't really even have to say.
James is also such a teddy bear and I just wanna hug him all day long.

I find the guys in the cast to be much more personable than the girls. (with the exception of Jennifer) The only other female cast member who made sure she signed everything yesterday was Greta. I understand they had a party to get to, but Jenni and Sara went down one pathway and sped out the doors.

(Wow. I really went on and on.)

[jordangirl]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 2:00pm

Glad you had a good time tgn915. I told you closing performances are special. :)

[tgn915]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 2:03pm

Yes, you did! And I'm so glad I went. :)
Thank youuu!

[jordangirl]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 2:08pm

Yay!!! :) You're welcome!!