‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ @ Allen Contemporary Theatre

Photos by Andi Pace

—Carol M. Rice

I was never into spelling bees as a child, probably because I didn’t even make it out of my classroom’s competition. I never got to represent the school, much less make it all the way to city, state, and national competitions. I’m not a bad speller, but I’ve never been able to accurately spell words aloud (probably because I’m more of a visual learner). But I’m always impressed with those who do have that talent.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a Tony Award-winning musical comedy about...a spelling bee. That’s the plot in a nutshell. It includes music and lyrics by William Finn and a book by Rachel Sheinkin, and was created by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss.

One of the unusual things about the show, running now at Allen Contemporary Theatre, is that four audience members are called up onto the stage to participate. These aren’t plants – they’re actually there to see the show. At the performance I attended at ACT, these four individuals were totally into it...and one was almost too good a speller!

Directed by Eddy Herring, the show examines the anxiety of the competition—everything young people go through while trying to win. For most of the six contestants, this ain’t their first rodeo, but the bee still extremely stressful. At first, this might not sound like a comedy, but it really is—and it’s a lot of fun to watch the extremely well-cast actors sing and dance about how various difficult words are spelled.

As Chip Tolentino, last year’s winner of the bee, Bryson Morlan is a boy scout who is there to defend his title. Morlan starts off being totally confident he’ll win. When he’s eliminated in fairly short order, he deflates with great flair: “Chip’s Lament” is one of the highlights of the show.

Jacob Waters plays homeschooled Leaf Coneybear with so much oddness that he stands out as one of the most memorable characters – in a good way. His bizarre yet totally appropriate costume (complete with helmet, elbow and knee pads, and cape) just adds to his weirdness, and when he goes into a trance to spell each word, it’s just mesmerizing. Truly an exceptional performance.

As Logainne Schwartzandgrunenierre, Chelsea Catalano is driven to succeed by her two dads (played by Waters and Morlan). She’s the youngest of the contestants and has a lisp, which occasionally makes it hard to understand her, but Catalano gives her a positive attitude and self-assuredness that keep us rooting for her.

Speaking of self-assured, Emily Fabrega gives Marcy Park a smirky poise and conceited air. She did, after all, come in 9th at the national spelling bee last year. Marcy has been trained to succeed at everything, and Fabrega’s relief when she fails (on purpose!) is a revelation.

As William Barfée, Blake Rice is geeky and introverted, but he knows he knows what he knows, and he isn’t afraid to tell people. William was eliminated in last year’s spelling bee due to an allergic reaction to peanuts; so, he has something to prove this year, and Rice ensures his success with his quirky delivery, strong vocals, and physicality.

As the final contestant, shy Olive Ostrovsky, played by Skylar Navratil, strikes us as much more subdued and realistic than the other actors – not that they’re caricatures, but even her simple pink overalls and white shirt with embroidered Peter Pan collar seem like something you might actually see a real kid wearing. Olive’s mom is out of town and her father is working late as usual, and she wasn’t even able to pay the entrance fee for the bee. Yet even with the lack of parental support, Olive believes in herself, and Navratil lets us see the lovely spark behind the neglect. Her “The I Love You Song” is absolutely stunning (with Laura Alley and Christian Black standing in as her parents).

In addition to the contestants, the show includes Rona Lisa Peretti, a popular local realtor and former winner of the bee. Alley shines as Rona recalls her love of winning and of the spelling bee itself, particularly in each iteration of “My Favorite Moment of the Bee.” Her well-tailored purple suit and matching accoutrements are perfect for the character.

Keegan Arnold definitely steals many moments as Vice Principal Panch. I don’t know how much of his performance was scripted and how much was improvised, but either way, he had the audience in stitches.

As Mitch Mahoney, an ex-convict performing his community service as The Official Comfort Counselor who hands out juice boxes to the eliminated spellers, Black is obviously having a blast jumping on tables and belting out lyrics. His initial cool disinterest turns into sympathy and caring for these kids, and it’s nice to watch him discover that.

Alley also serves as costume designer, and she has done a superb job. Each character is completely unique, and their clothes match their personalities beautifully. They also work well for the cast when it’s time for Becca Tischer’s fun choreography.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is the perfect size musical for Allen Contemporary Theatre, as they have a relatively small stage and little wing space. The small band, consisting of music director Timothy Jenkins on piano and Gabe Dameron on drums, fits nicely and unobtrusively in the upstage corner of the realistic gymnasium set designed by Herring, with scenic painting by Reagan Wren. There was also a wonderful projection of the back of the gym created by lighting designer/operator Melinda Cotton.

Greg Cotton is the sound designer/sound mixer for this show, and one thing I always love about the musicals at ACT is the fact that there is never an issue with mics going out or being left on when a character goes backstage, I never hear feedback, and you can always hear the actors over the music. The sound is always perfect. Other theatres need to take lessons from Allen Contemporary Theatre on this point.

The team of Herring, Jenkins, and Tischer have done a great job with this show. The acting and character work are strong, the vocals and harmonies are solid, and the choreography is energetic and creative—not above the performers’ abilities, yet it doesn’t seem simple.

I had to use spell check several times just to write this review—so I’ll guarantee you don’t have to “bee” a champion to enjoy the show. Whether you’d like to relive your own spelling bee days—or the trauma of missing “that word” in a competition (it’s a fun story later…mostly), this show at Allen Contemporary might be right up your a-l-l-e-y.

WHEN: December 5-21, 2025
WHERE: ACT, 1101 East Main Street, #300, Allen TX
WEB: allencontemporarytheatre.net