25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee

Musical comedy can be a lovely thing when done properly. Otherwise, it can leave audience member glaring at the time, waiting for time to move faster. The San Joaquin Delta College Department of Drama's production of "The 25thAnnual Putnam Spelling Bee" was done wonderfully and therefore was quite entertaining. Unusual, strange, humorous with a wonderful cast, Delta's production of "Spelling Bee" is the ticket for drama-lovers looking for something new and different. I saw Spelling Bee during its first show on May 3, 2013 and although it being the first show I still felt it was done greatly. So I give many thanks to the director Michelle Felten who must have worked tediously to get the play at the level that it was during the live show. Rachel Sheinkin, the writer of the book must have been a very witty woman; because throughout the play there were several clever jokes that had me laughing out loud. It may sound like a kids show but it is definitely aimed at adults. Kids will enjoy the fun, fast-pace musical but may not get all of the witty jokes, which left all the adults rolling in their seats. After thinking about it for a while one can conclude that The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee manages to be engaging and genuinely funny all the way to the end for several reasons.

Never having heard of the show, I had no idea what to expect coming into it. The awkward characters and the humor they brought to life had me reminiscing of the nerdy kids from my elementary days. The sly teasing amongst the actors perfectly captures the edgy nature of a spelling bee and the winner-take-all mentality. While a musical about a spelling bee doesn't sound like the most exciting show, substantial performances by each actor provided a great foundation for the production. Delta music major, Tori Sahli, plays lovable Olive Ostrovsky with such earnestness and girlish enthusiasm that it's impossible not to become absorbed in her unlikely journey to the spelling bee. She seems to be the only character excited about competing in the bee, and her sincere astonishment of the situation makes her character the underdog that I rooted for. Another female standout was Marcy Park, played by a graduate from Delta's acting program Jamie Espiritu. This character attempts to prove to the show's audience that despite her long list of success in academics that she is "not all business" as other actors constantly describe her as. Her character was wonderfully played and did not even seem as she was acting, but as if that were her actually personality. This impressed me in the most.

While the production is a comedy, there were also a few emotional parts that couldn't help but make me feel sad. For example, a song played where Olive told a story about her detached family. This came unexpectedly and made me feel down as she fantasized about the love she always yearned for from her parents.

What was unusual yet an awesome part of the show was the audience interaction. Breaking down the invisible fourth wall, the actors called