For a Midwestern theater student, the Chicago production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower is the rare theatrical equivalent of getting drafted by the NBA.
Before they were recruited for the cast of Chicago’s production of the hit Broadway musical with music by William Finn and book by Rachel Sheinkin, most of the cast were either still in school or carrying diplomas on which the ink had yet to fully dry.
But with this show, the opportunities–if not the financial rewards–are so great, it was worth the students missing at least a chunk of the final year in college.
“I have one semester to go,” said Jen Sese, a student at University of Michigan. “I am finishing up by correspondence. An opportunity like this doesn’t come along very often.”
“I only missed about six weeks of school,” said Christine Werny, a student at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. “It’s worth it.”
Indeed. Unlike most Broadway shows–which require experienced ensembles of trained hoofers and vocalists–“Spelling Bee” is a quirky little musical about high school kids trying to survive both a brutally competitive contest and the dizzying vicissitudes of their own lives.
Produced by David Stone–the same guy responsible for
Wicked”–this Chicago “Spelling Bee” is a fairly close replication of the New York original, currently playing on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre. Stone already has opened a San Francisco version of the show–to very favorable reviews and strong ticket sales–and Chicago is next on his docket. Previews are under way and the official opening is slated for Tuesday. Later this year, a separate national tour will hit the road after starting at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.
The cast is made up of adults–who aren’t asked to pretend to be children. Still, the show was written to be performed mainly by actors who read on stage as being in their early twenties. And thus while pretty much every musical-theater actor in Chicago was dying to get a part in a rare show that should provide steady work for months–if not years–most of the roles went to a group of very perky and very cute unknowns who fit the diverse panoply of characters in the show.
Unknowns, that is, except to their college professors.
Many of them drove to Chicago for the auditions–some, like Werny, standing in line at the crack of dawn to make sure they’re seen. Some waited for several hours for their moment. So for the lucky few to get the offer, this was what you might call a young-life-changing moment.
When she got the call telling her she had the role, Sese was in the computer lab in Ann Arbor, typing up a paper for her finals.
Brad Weinstock, a senior at Northwestern University, heard while waiting at O’Hare for his flight back to his family’s home. “I nearly had to be sedated on the plane,” he said. “I couldn’t sit still.”
Eric Roediger, who plays the part of Barfee (which is as close as this ensemble-driven show comes to having a lead role) was hanging out in Cleveland.
Working as a bill collector.
“There were tears,” he said. “Later, someone asked me if I wanted to get in on a lottery pool. I told them I had already won one.”
Among the actors playing kids, there’s at least one experienced adult. Cristen Paige–who plays the role of Olive–might look like she’s just out of school, but she’s actually an experienced star of the Chicago musical theater and a Court Theatre ensemble member .
So what’s it like being the old lady? “I’m excited,” Paige said. “We’re all on the same level playing field here. And it’s exciting to be around young and enthusiastic performers.”
“I suppose I’m one of the adults,” said Lucia Spina, another experienced Chicago actor who plays the host of the Bee, realtor Rona Lisa Peretti. “I like this group. No one is jaded.”
Indeed not. Seated together in the lobby last week, the cast of “Spelling Bee” had a palpable excitement. For most of them, this was their first big-time show and they were having fun.
“My entire family is into this.”
“There’s merchandise in the lobby!”
“There’s so much buzz.”
They all now know they just snagged roles that any young adult would kill to have.
“People were angry with me and I didn’t even know why,” says James Earl Jones II (no relation), who plays Mitch Mahoney, the guy who ejects all the contest losers from the theater. “I had no idea everyone wanted to be a part of this thing.”
Aside from its youthful cast, “Spelling Bee” has another peculiar feature. Each night, members of the audience are invited onto the stage to spell words as fellow contestants. Audience participation is thus a big part of the show. And for the performers, that means improv skills are much in demand.
“Last night there was a kid on stage and a woman in the front row started feeding him words,” said Paige.
“The show is totally different,” said Weinstock. “So that gives you something to look forward to every night.”
In essence, of course, these cast members are replacement performers charged with re-creating the roles performed by the original New York cast–which made the move from Second Stage, and off-Broadway house, onto the Great White Way, where the show continues to do well. But the members of the new Chicago cast say that director James Lapine has been willing to let them bring their own stuff into the show.
“My Mitch is going to be very different from the 6 foot 3 inch guy who played him in New York,” says Jones.
In the case of Weinstock, he was so badly wanted that the creative team actually changed the name of his character to better reflect Weinstock’s ethnicity. In New York, the character is called “Chip” Tolentino. Now he’s Isaac “Chip” Berkowitz. “I’m still Chip,” he said.
Here from New York, producer Stone and his creative team clearly are enjoying the chance to re-create their work on such eager vessels. For sure, the Chicago production of “Spelling Bee” won’t lack fresh-faced enthusiasm.
“I love the Chicago kids,” said William Finn, the droll veteran Broadway composer who was in town for previews to ensure things were going well. “In New York they all ignore me. But every time I go backstage in Chicago, this cast applauds.”
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But can they spell?
We tested the spellers in the cast with actual words from the Chicagoland Spelling Bee City Championship and Suburban Final, held March 25. They went two for six.
CRISTEN PAIGE
Character: Olive Ostrovsky
Her word: vanadium
Did she get it? No
ERIC ROEDIGER
Character: William Barfee
His word: naphtha
Did he get it? No
CHRISTINE WERNY
Character: Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre
Her word: fusillade
Did she get it? No
JEN SESE
Character: Marcy Park
Her word: quotidian
Did she get it? Yes
BRAD WEINSTOCK
Character: Isaac “Chip” Berkowitz
His word: maraud
Did he get it? Yes
DERRICK TRUMBLY
Character: Leaf Coneybear
His word: quisling
Did he get it? No
`The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’
When: open run beginning Tuesday
Where: Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower
Price: $59.50-$69.50; 312-902-1400
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cjones5@tribune.com
