Who could have guessed there was this much drama in trying to spell chrysanthemum?
Er, chrysanthamum.
Er, c-h-r-i-s … Nevermind.
It wasn’t so long ago that spelling bees were nobody’s idea of a good time.
Well, almost nobody. Arnold, the geeky kid with glasses who could not only spell ratiocination but use it in a sentence, thought they were fun. But he was more likely to be a target of physical abuse than a hero of stage and screen.
But that was before the 2001 novel “Bee Season,” the 2002 Oscar-nominated documentary “Spellbound,” the 2005 Broadway musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” the 2005 movie version of “Bee Season” and the new movie “Akeelah and the Bee,” opening Friday. Spelling bees–already a phenomenon through the yearly ESPN broadcasts of the Scripps National Spelling Bee–are now a national obsession.
And Arnold is a luminary. Er, lumanery.
Er, star.
“It’s an American cultural phenomenon,” said Rachel Sheinkin, who won a Tony for the book she wrote for “Putnam County Spelling Bee,” the musical about teenage misfits taking part in a spelling bee that’s playing at the Drury Lane Theatre (Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St.).
Can the stars of “Putnam County Spelling Bee” spell?
The Chicago Tribune tested the spellers in the cast of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” with actual words from the Chicagoland Spelling Bee City Championship and Suburban Final in March. They went two for six.
Cristen Paige
Character: Olive Ostrovsky
Her word: vanadium
Did she get it? No
Jen Sese
Character: Marcy Park
Her word: quotidian
Did she get it? Yes
Eric Roediger
Character: William Barfee
His word: naphtha
Did he get it? No
Brad Weinstock
Character: Isaac “Chip” Berkowitz
His word: maraud
Did he get it? Yes
Christine Werny
Character: Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre
Her word: fusillade
Did she get it? No
Derrick Trumbly
Character: Leaf Coneybear
His word: quisling
Did he get it? No
