Adults transform into children for a show that won a Tony Award for best book of a musical for Rachel Sheinkin for the play’s original Broadway production in 2005.
Curtain Call Theatre stages “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” from June 17 to 26 at Front Street Theatre in Mokena.
“It is about a group of 12-year-olds who are competing in a spelling bee,” said Matt Carey, director of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”
“All of the songs really tell the story of who these kids are and that sense of innocence that is part of being in that one special moment in your trip to adulthood.”
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss and music and lyrics by William Finn, who received two Tony Awards for the original Broadway production of “Falsettos.”
Carey of New Lenox has seen several productions of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” including a professional performance in New York but the Curtain Call Theatre staging marks the first time he has worked on the musical comedy.
“It’s such a delightful and charming piece of literature. It’s funny and it has this interesting audience participation element so each performance is a little different. It is endearing without being super heavy and difficult,” said Carey, who became a board member of Curtain Call Theatre in April.
“What I found most fascinating overall was creatively figuring out how to do things in the Curtain Call space, where there is no center aisle and 80 seats. There’s a lot of really exciting ways to think about doing it a little differently than you’ve seen it done before especially with the audience participation.”
The cast includes Brian Cummins and Mike Bultman, both of New Lenox; Paige Mueller and Christina Duris, both of Shorewood; and Cristy Nordstrom, Adam Griffiths and Aidan McGuire, all of Mokena.
Siobhan McNulty of Naperville, Aaron Ohlson of Plainfield, Michael Sheldon of Lockport, Ken Czechanski of Frankfort and Jim Tess of Orland Park are also in the cast.
“One of the things that make it interesting and challenging creatively is that the actors, who are not 12 at all and who are adult actors, have to really embody being 12,” Carey said.
“The beauty of community theater for me is that you have people who love theater. This cast in particular is a best group of humans who want to come and give the best of themselves to these roles.
“This cast has amazing voices. They have really good stage instincts and they jell well together.”
Carey became involved with Curtain Call Theatre in 2019.
“I actually did my first show in 27 years in 2019. I was in the cast for ‘Assassins.’ That was my first foray back into theater since college and it was amazing,” said Carey, who served as assistant director for Curtain Call Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play” in December.
“There is a great deal of talent and effort that goes into production and I think you see really good shows at Curtain Call. It is the caliber of the people and the effort that goes into creating the productions that is pretty impressive.
“It’s not professional theater but it’s pretty close. That’s what makes live theater beautiful to me. It’s always evolving into something that touches you. It makes you feel something.”
The production team includes assistant director Mike Naughton of Mokena, music director Savannah Riestenberg of Shorewood, choreographer Kate McIlvain of Chicago, technical director Nicki Blowers of Joliet, and producer June Graffy and executive producer Suzanne Helwich, who are both of New Lenox.
“‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ is just a really fun night of theater. It promises to always be interesting,” Carey said.
“There’s something new that happens in each performance because there is a significant portion of it where random people in the audience get to be a part of the show. It creates a fun way for the cast to learn to improvise.
“You just never know what’s going to happen, which will be a really neat theater experience.”
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” contains language and themes intended for mature audiences only.
‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’
When: 7:30 p.m. June 17-18 and 24-25; 2 p.m. June 19 and 26
Where: Curtain Call Theatre’s Front Street Theatre, 11112 Front St., Mokena
Tickets: $25 general admission
Information: 708-607-2281; ccctheatre.com
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
