HUB CITY’S THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE: A (P)REVIEW

This (p)review is generally spoiler-free

There’s a little parlor game a few Hub City Theatre Company veterans like to play, me included. We get together and debate which HCTC show should be acclaimed as the Best Thing Hub City Has Ever Done (BTHCHED). Now, if I started listing some of the frontrunners here, all I would do is make people mad. And besides, I’m here to write a review. But let me just say… Everybody that I’ve spoken to who has seen THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE in rehearsal has come away telling me the same thing:

This show is in the running for the BTHCHED.

For my money, 2024’s RIDE THE CYCLONE holds that honor. But PUTNAM COUNTY is also directed by James Matthew Wyatt and features the same creative team that brought you CYCLONE. Indeed, PUTNAM COUNTY bears certain affinities with that show--a musical comedy focusing on kids whose songs and interactions add depth and richness to their characters.

The plot is easy to summarize: It’s a junior high spelling bee! Aside from the intermission, there isn’t even a scene change; it’s like one long tracking shot that commands your attention. And how does PUTNAM COUNTY do that? By being dead funny. Also by allowing the audience to glimpse all the anxieties and insecurities that roil the lives of these middle schoolers. Their secret fears. The burdens of their home lives. Their fantasies of escape. Their struggle to, in the words of one number, “be smart… be cool … be remarkably adroit in social situations.” Plenty of people fantasize about being young, but would anyone really want to be 14 again? Really? In PUTNAM COUNTY, each character reveals something essential about themselves in that painful stage of life. It's like a Robert Browning dramatic monologue. Only funny.

So who are these kids?

Well, there’s Olive (Ashley Leake), a clever girl with a deteriorating home life; Logainne (Erin Eller), the youngest and wokest participant; Marcy (Olivia Wyatt), who’s totally not uptight guys, really; Leaf (Sam Weatherford) who’s under the desk and possibly on the spectrum; Chip (Michael Beecham), last year’s winner who’s finding it hard to repeat; and William Barfée (Logan Taylor), whose gifted leg compensates for his considerable nasal disorders.

And speaking of gifted, casting talent is a skill, and this HCTC team nailed it. There’s an All-Star at every position. And we haven’t even covered the posh Bee presenter Rona Lisa (Abbey Hubbard); the excitable and potentially violent Vice Principal Panch (Jay Smith); and the school’s comfort officer Mitch (Ke’Van Yarbrough), who’s out on parole just in time to give you a hug and a juice box. Swings Ontoni Reedy and Lindsay Johnson stand ready to step in if a cast member has an unfortunate spelling-related accident.

And without giving too much away, one cool feature of the show is an interactive audience element and the potential for a bit of improv, thus guaranteeing that you’ll never see the same show twice.

I wish I could give everyone their due here, but let me simply call your attention to a couple of standout performances. If you’ve ever seen Logan Taylor on stage, you know that he’s all-in for every role he performs. That’s certainly the case with his Barfée, a histrionic, histaminic nerd who may well become your favorite PUTNAM COUNTY character. Michael Beecham’s Chip is unfortunately eliminated from competition early when he discovers that the stiffest competition is himself. His post-intermission number is unforgettable. Though the youngest cast member, Sam Weatherford is already a seasoned Jackson theatre veteran from a theatre family; he brings considerable talent and sweet puppetry skills to his energetic performance as Leaf. As V.P. Panch, Jay Smith puts the vice in vice-principal as he can barely suppress his darker impulses. (Can V.P. Panch make it through the entire bee this year?) And while I missed Erin Eller’s soaring soprano in this role, I loved watching her sing with the persona of sixth-grader Logainne in a role that makes demands quite different from her breakout performance as Cathy in HCTC’s THE LAST FIVE YEARS. Olivia Wyatt choreographed the show and displays some impressive athleticism during her feature number as the uptight Marcy. And finally, the script does some ingenious things with the school’s comfort officer Mitch (Ke’Van Yarbrough), who also doubles as a dad in some of the fantasy numbers, reminding us that teachers, guidance counselors, and resource officers often operate “in loco parentis” in real life, and that often the public school is the only place where a lonely kid can get a word of affirmation, or a hot meal, or a hug and a juice box.

But the real show-stopper belongs to Ashley Leake as Olive. Leake is fresh off her role as Marian in Nite Lite Theatre’s MUSIC MAN. In her feature number, she’s joined by Abbey Hubbard, thus pairing two of the finest voices in Jackson. Can a dude hang with these divas? Ke’Van Yarbrough says, “Hold my juice box.” The result is a remarkable performance that’s deeply affecting, as Olive fantasizes about the kind of family she can’t have, longing to hear her parents say the words that every kid wants to hear. The fact that this song is set against a backdrop of inspired silliness makes it all the more poignant.

And speaking of backdrops, let me sing the praises of Aaron Hardin and the Carnegie Center for Arts and History. The renovated seating and new theatrical lighting have transformed that space into a real gift for the community—city money well spent.

Installing and running much of the tech is HCTC workhorse Erik Alexander, with design help from assistant director Peyton Mehr and scenic artist Abby Wolfzorn. Thanks to their efforts, the Carnegie’s basement gives off old public school gymnasium vibes; you can almost feel the dried bubble gum underneath the seats and smell the pizza rectangles from the cafeteria. Music director Matthew Eller keeps the music cues and performances on-track—often an invisible task unless you go to a show where it’s done poorly. Eller has done a lot of work to be this unnoticed in this seamless, professional show.

Rounding out the front-of-house and support team are F.O.H. manager Kelly Maust, costumer Lily K. Lewis, and prop mistress Natalie Chhim. Those Boy Scout uniforms and basketball hoops don’t find themselves!

So after all this time reading about Hub City’s THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, you may be wondering “Who wins?”

If you’re smart enough to grab a ticket to this show, you do.

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, a Tony Award-winning musical comedy by Rachel Sheinkin (book) and William Finn (music and lyrics), is directed by James Matthew Wyatt and is playing the next two weekends in the basement of the Carnegie Center for Arts and History in downtown Jackson. It is a play in two acts with a total running time of just under two hours, not including a 15-minute intermission.

The play is suitable for most audiences, though there is some PG sexual humor, especially in one musical number. It’s all in good fun, but parents of kids might want to exercise some discretion. Teens should be fine.

There’s a preview party Thursday, April 30, at 6:30 pm. This premium ticket gets you a tasty dinner and first look at the show. There’s a school cafeteria culinary theme, but with a catered gourmet touch. Regular performances:

Friday & Saturday, May 1-2 at 7:30 pm

Sunday, May 3 at 3:00 pm

Friday & Saturday, May 8-9 at 7:30 pm

Sunday, May 10 at 3:00 pm

Seating is limited at the Carnegie, so don’t sleep on these tickets!

-- Gavin T. Richardson

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