When Tass's dad said we were going to see a Broadway play about a spelling bee, I was really skeptical. I didn't think I'd like it at all, and I couldn't even think of how they would make a spelling bee interesting (the fainting Indian boy from the ESPN videos nonwithstanding).
Uh... SPOILERS I guess, since I have to gush a bit.
Damn was I wrong. This play is HILARIOUS. It is a musical, like almost all Broadway plays (or is that ALL of them?) and has really funny songs like "My Unfortunate Erection" and "My Friend the Dictionary."
They also asked for volunteers to be "reserve spellers" before the show started, and I am so glad of my stage fright, because otherwise I probably would have volunteered since I am an excellent speller. But if I had, I would have missed out on the rest of the play, and it really was awesome. Instead, they called up some old dude (Dr. Connelly, I think) and some woman, some other kid I didn't even notice, and this one little girl named Madison Levine. I'm pretty sure the actors were feeding her both spellings and stage directions, because she spelled some words I'd never even heard of correctly, and then got eliminated on a word that shouldn't have been that difficult.
The other "reserve" spellers got pretty randomly difficult words that were meant to get them off-stage, or really easy ones to keep them on. Dr. Connelly, for example, got "Mexicans" while the boy-scout actor got something astoundingly difficult. Then, the little girl got "cow." This is why I think they were feeding her lines, because instead of just spelling it, she asked for the definition. The prompter was all..."uhm...it means a COW." And then she asked for a sentence. Again, he looked a little horrified, and then said "I would like you to spell the word COW."
The prompter's sentences were hilarious all on their own...but I can't remember any more of them specifically.
All the actors were REALLY good, and Tass and I actually know one of the girls from our Birthright Israel trip, which made it all the more enjoyable.
So, if you're anywhere near New York and have a night to spare, go to the Circle in the Square Theater and see "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."
Uh... SPOILERS I guess, since I have to gush a bit.
Damn was I wrong. This play is HILARIOUS. It is a musical, like almost all Broadway plays (or is that ALL of them?) and has really funny songs like "My Unfortunate Erection" and "My Friend the Dictionary."
They also asked for volunteers to be "reserve spellers" before the show started, and I am so glad of my stage fright, because otherwise I probably would have volunteered since I am an excellent speller. But if I had, I would have missed out on the rest of the play, and it really was awesome. Instead, they called up some old dude (Dr. Connelly, I think) and some woman, some other kid I didn't even notice, and this one little girl named Madison Levine. I'm pretty sure the actors were feeding her both spellings and stage directions, because she spelled some words I'd never even heard of correctly, and then got eliminated on a word that shouldn't have been that difficult.
The other "reserve" spellers got pretty randomly difficult words that were meant to get them off-stage, or really easy ones to keep them on. Dr. Connelly, for example, got "Mexicans" while the boy-scout actor got something astoundingly difficult. Then, the little girl got "cow." This is why I think they were feeding her lines, because instead of just spelling it, she asked for the definition. The prompter was all..."uhm...it means a COW." And then she asked for a sentence. Again, he looked a little horrified, and then said "I would like you to spell the word COW."
The prompter's sentences were hilarious all on their own...but I can't remember any more of them specifically.
All the actors were REALLY good, and Tass and I actually know one of the girls from our Birthright Israel trip, which made it all the more enjoyable.
So, if you're anywhere near New York and have a night to spare, go to the Circle in the Square Theater and see "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."
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