‘Putnam County’ consistently delivers laughs

H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S: adj. 1) extremely amusing; humorous.

Example sentence: Highland School of Technology’s performance of Rachel Sheinkin’s “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was hilarious.

The production consisted of 18 people, which made it feel cozy. That small size and some audience interaction made this a personalized experience, unique to every performance.

Acting and characterization were expressive, especially by Dylan Medlin as Barfee, Chase Pasour as Leaf, and Jessica Randall as Logainne.

One of the Spelling Bee moderators, Rona Lisa Peretti (Madison Hardin), had the look and stage presence for the motherly Realtor, but her singing and soft-spokenness combined with the finicky microphones to make her difficult to understand at times.

However, her chemistry with Ryan Duquette as Vice Principal Douglas Panch was well-done. Duquette brought a flustered breathiness to the role, which added to the humor of the character’s repeated denial of a past psychological breakdown.

Medlin’s Barfee brought the archetypal “dork” onto the stage. With slicked-back hair, constant interjections about the pronunciation of his name, thickly framed glasses, a “mucus condition” and sweet dance moves as he spelled, it’s no wonder that he stole the show.

His attraction to Maddie Gibson’s character, Olive Ostrovsky, was adorable. And so was she. Gibson came out with pigtails and a delightful high-pitched giggle that supported her innocence and unwavering faith that her father would finally show up to see her in the bee.

Sonny Matthew Whitlock and Pasour were charming. Pasour’s Leaf Coneybear brought the aloofness associated with 10-year-old boys, as well as unique eccentricity (a cape and helmet, complete with antennae). Pasour’s connection with the character was right on, and he made Leaf’s story of accidental success and discovery of self-esteem one audience members could easily empathize with.

Contrasting with Coneybear’s underdog attitude was Whitlock’s Chip Tolentino, reigning champion of last year’s bee and cocky in multiple ways (including an unfortunate pubescent happenstance that would mortify anyone on a stage). Whitlock was wide-eyed and grinning throughout, and this gave the character a charisma some of the more awkward spellers were missing. After Whitlock’s premature elimination, he was resurrected as Jesus Christ in another contestant’s internal struggle.

The instrumental backup was a recording, therefore easier for actors to follow onstage. About half the singers were consistent throughout the production, although the lack of vocal consistency was trumped by the personality that the actors brought to their characters. They incorporated allusions to the modern era, including references to future president Ellen DeGeneres and a number of spicy PG-13 quips you might not expect from the mouth of a Gastonia high schooler.

The set was kept as a stage for spellers, while audience members served as spelling-bee attendees. Characters broke the fourth wall between the stage and the audience with audience involvement. Impromptu walk-ons received unique and jocular one-line descriptions, such as, “Jake was raised by wolves,” which added to the lightness.

Although the overall atmosphere was lighthearted, the show incorporates themes of parental absence, desire for parental and societal approval and need for self-confidence. Randall as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre provided a memorable performance of the classic, politically active overachiever, just trying to gain the approval of her two fathers and overcome her prevalent lisp.

Audrey Stadler as Marcy Park also brought a mature element to her role, in that she was weary of the pressures of perfection; she was absolved (liberated) from the pressure after her talk with Jesus.

There were three stationary microphones on stage that remained problematic: An inch too close, and both dialogue and notes were booming, but an inch too far out of range, and singing and dialogue were nearly impossible to hear if actors sang in high or low registers.

Nonetheless, Highland School of Technology’s performance of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was delightful. It made audience members laugh and reminisce about their own awkward time in middle school and explore their own “mad” spelling S-K-I-L-L-Z.

This story was originally published May 7, 2015 at 10:40 AM with the headline "‘Putnam County’ consistently delivers laughs."