By Sofia McGinnis
TAMPA, Fla. — In the spring of 2024, The University of Tampa’s Department of Theatre and Dance announced its show season for the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025. Among the list of shows was The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Kayla Collins, the stage manager for the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, discusses the musical’s theme.
“The story of [the] spelling bee follows a group of kids competing in the county spelling bee,” said Collins. “[Throughout the show] we see a lot of character growth for each kid as they learn why it is they love to spell.”
As the show’s stage manager, Collins was very involved in the backstage process.
“This is my first-time stage managing at UTampa, so I had no idea what to expect. While some parts were stressful, I love this show and this cast,” said Collins.
The show follows a colorful cast of characters, such as Olive Ostrovsky, played by Megan Lisko-Snelling, a lovable young girl with an advent love of the dictionary. She struggles with her absent parents throughout the show but eventually finds a friend in William Barfèe, a kid struggling with one working nostril and a severe peanut allergy, played by Andy Terrazas.
Spelling Bee also included many other characters. Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, the youngest speller in the Bee, played by Chloe Edwards, is only trying to win because of her overbearing dads.
Marcy Park, played by Mariela Zeno, is a gifted student struggling with the pressures of being an overachiever.“Chip” Tolentino, played by Andrew Miller, who while trying to defend his title as spelling bee champion, finds himself struggling with the side effects of puberty.
A fan favorite of the night was Leaf Coneybear, played by Oliver Paul. He is a young sweet boy who dresses up in a homemade superhero costume. He may get distracted easily, but he’s very loveable and delightful to watch onstage.
Fiona Taft, a sophomore economics major, attended the Spelling Bee and enjoyed Paul’s performance.
“All of the characters were super compelling. My favorite [was] the Coneybear kid [and] anything Coneybear did, ‘cause he was just very endearing,” said Taft.
As well as many other fun-filled characters, the show is filled with a childlike atmosphere.
They also added a surprise for the audience as well. Several audience members were chosen at random and brought up onstage to participate in the spelling bee. It kept the show fresh and exciting as you never knew who would be called on stage.
Maria Eansilva, a psychology major, enjoyed the audience interaction as well.
“I thought the play was truly amazing! I loved every second of it. It was really funny when random people from the audience came to the stage,” said Eansilva.
The characters also interacted with the audience in the theatre. The two adult judges, Vice Principal Douglas Panch, played by Ben Sutherland, and former spelling bee champion Rona Lisa Peretti, played by Alyssa Hernandez, constantly break the fourth wall to talk to the audience.
Hernandez’s character had to explain to one of the audience members, who was a bit too good at spelling, that she needed to get the next word wrong to progress the show’s plot.
Spelling Bee never shied away from adult humor either with characters such as Chip Tolentino singing about his struggles with puberty and his unfortunate “distraction.”
Taft said she found the show incredibly funny.
“I didn’t expect to be as vulgar as it was, [but] it was really funny. [Chip’s] song was really funny,” said Taft.
There are several other wonderful moments, songs, and characters in this show. Overall, Spelling Bee is an incredible show. The students did a wonderful job both on and off stage.
Collins said that students are more than welcome to attend any shows on campus.
“The arts at UTampa are open to all, and our shows are all free so there’s no reason not to come by, enjoy a show, and support all these amazing artists,” said Collins.
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Photo courtesy of Aaron Engelhardt from @theatreutamp on Instagram.