Posted on Jan 14, 2016 in "Arts"
VOX
Presents The
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
One
is a gruff outsider who nearly saw victory in a previous year—but
had to be knocked out of the competition due to a nasty nut allergy.
Another
is recovering from a hiatus after an “unfortunate incident,” and
feels like the only sane one in the bunch.
Then
there’s the overzealous former champion who’s never quite moved
on from her victory—and thus lives vicariously through each year’s
competitors.
These
are just a few of the compelling, quirky, and endearing characters in
The
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a
one-act musical comedy being showcased in a production this weekend
by VOX Musical Theatre, WPI’s student musical theatre company.
“There’s
something in the show for everybody, as the different kinds of humor
come from many different kinds of characters,” says aerospace
engineering major Timothy Jones ’18, who plays vice principal
Douglas Panch. “You’ll be laughing one minute at the show’s
jokes—some of which change every night—then you’ll see how
these characters are all surprisingly human, and you’ll really feel
for them and their problems.”
The
show will be performed in Alden Memorial tonight and tomorrow night
at 7:30 p.m., and on Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are free.
Based
on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, with music and lyrics by William
Finn, The
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee follows
six tween-age spelling aficionados—and those on the proverbial
sidelines cheering and jeering for them—attempting to spell their
way to victory in an annual competition. Along the way, they sing,
dance, share their aspirations and goals—and, in a unique aspect of
the show, welcome audience members onstage to fumble their way
through words right along with them.
“It
provides a really fun challenge for the actors who have to channel
their inner awkward tween,” says director Douglas Davis ’16, an
interactive media and game development major. “Everyone remembers
how awkward their middle school years were, and this show capitalizes
on that.”
And
at least four audience members at each performance will get to relive
that prepubescent squeamishness. Just prior to each of the three
shows, a quartet of viewers will be randomly picked and screened to
participate as “ridiculous characters,” Davis explains.
Given
that, “anything can—and probably will—happen,” said Matthew
Zielonko ’17, a computer science major who plays 12-year-old
William Barfee (the one whose aversion to peanuts forced him to bow
out of the 24th annual Bee). “It’s going to be a new show every
single time we go on stage—not just for the audience, but for the
cast, pit, and tech, as well, which is going to be a lot of fun.”
His
character has a secret spelling trick: A “magic foot,” as
Zielonko explains, with which he traces out words on the floor prior
to saying them aloud. A veteran of musical theatre—he’s been
performing since he was 5—Zielonko described Barfee as not equipped
with a large cachet of friends, and a little hard to get to know at
first—but once people do, he has them laughing with his witty sense
of humor.
“I’ve
never had to play a villian-ish character before, so it’s a lot of
fun to get to be mean,” he says, also noting that Barfee is quite
the dancer. Calling the overall experience a “challenge,” he said
“it puts me out of my comfort zone.”
Meanwhile,
Sonya Maria Douglas ’16, an independently designed major in
biopsychology also minoring in musical performance, portrays Rona
Lisa Peretti, who won the Bee 22 years prior, and considers her role
hosting the bee the highlight of her year. She reminds everyone of
her own personal winning word, syzygy—as defined: when the moon
aligns with the earth and sun—and is, as Douglas put it, wacky but
sincere, and “a little over the top about everything.”
She
watches the Bee “with the intensity and awe of some sports
fanatics,” says Douglas, who has been involved in musical theatre
since the third grade and described an “extra energy and passion”
in it that she hasn’t found with other types of theatre. “Being
that over the moon about a spelling bee is pretty silly,” she adds,
but “it makes for some very entertaining moments.”
Overall,
“it’s a fantastically witty musical comedy,” she says. “It’s
engaging, it’s hysterical, there’s audience participation,
there’s improv, and it’s a different experience every night.”
Emphasizing
that the VOX show is free, she encourages people to come see the
production more than once. “If you have time, you have no
excuse—unless you are just allergic to fun,” she jokes.
– BY TARYN PLUMB
Original story link.
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