This weekend, Saint Louis University Theatre will open the first of two weekends of the award winning musical, “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”
The one-act show, which made its debut on off-Broadway in February of 2005, revolves around six young characters competing for the Putnam County trophy. These unlikely heroes will leave audiences rolling with their humor and over-achieving antics.
Freshman Maddie Spruce plays Marcy Park, a “perfect catholic school girl” who is very serious about well, everything.
“She’s the stereotypical prissy perfect girl,” she said. However, like many of the characters throughout the show, Marcy goes through a bit of a transformation.
“She slowly learns that not everything has to be so serious and doesn’t want people to think about her as all business all the time,” Spruce said, calling Marcy a “deceptively fun character” who breaks out of her mold during the spelling bee.
The interactive nature of the play makes this show unique, as audience members are invited to come on stage and show off their spelling skills at the beginning of the show. This fun vibe is one of Spruce’s favorite things about the show.
“It’s like a playground almost. All of it is really exciting, and it’s a very upbeat show, which makes it very entertaining,” she said.
As lighthearted as the musical may be, preparing for the show was no walk in the park.
“It definitely takes a lot out of you because of how upbeat it is and how fast paced the show is,” Spruce said. Preparing for the production was a lot of “building up the stamina to get through a show like this.”
According to Spruce, this musical comedy is a non-stop good time, and is sure to leave audience members laughing.
“I think it is very heartwarming and very fun. [There are] so many heartfelt moments and all the characters go on a journey,” Spruce said. “They all connect to each other in some way… even though they’re so different.”
Spruce has high hopes for the mood of those who leave the theater.
“I want them to feel happy and excited and just want them to walk out of there like that was a good show,” Spruce said. An experience where they laughed, maybe shed a few tears, and most definitely loved the free candy.
Tickets are $7 for all students and $9 for faculty and staff of the University. To make a reservation, call 314-977-3327. The next performances are Feb. 22 and 23 at 8 p.m., March 1 and 2 at 8 p.m., and a matinee on March 3 at 2 p.m.
