Sunset Playhouse’s endearing performance of ‘Putnam County Spelling Bee’

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Photo By George G Katsekesjr

Sunset Playhouse stages The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee with a humble emotional immensity. A respectably varied cast warmly delivers the musical story of a few diverse kids competing for dominance in a spelling competition in small-town America. Adults play kids dealing with all those problems that kids have in a breezy musical entirely formatted around a traditional spelling bee setup.

Carrie Gray bears an endearingly supportive energy in the role of former spelling bee champion Rona Lisa Perretti, who is hosting the bee. Gray’s charming stage presence serves as a strong emotional anchor for much of the anarchic action through which the story rolls. Aiding her is Nick Zuiker’s sharply witty presence in the role of Vice Principal Douglas Panch. With adults playing both students and spelling bee officials, the dynamic between the two in a production of this musical can hit a bit of a snag in places, but director Diana Alioto has done a good job of developing a clear distinction between everyone in the ensemble. All of the different schoolroom archetypes come through quite clearly in the production, which glides quite naturally from song to song.

The cast of students includes some impressive talent. Kayla Atadero precisely nails the perfection of overachiever Marcy Park; Zachary Dean’s earnestness resonates with striking clarity through the awkwardly verbose William Barfee; Maddison Underberg embraces an irresistibly strong emotional energy in the role of the irrepressible Olive Ostrovsky and Shawn Schmidt plays to the stranger end of things with the preternaturally iconoclastic Leaf Coneybear.

Through May 8 at the Furlan Auditorium, 800 Elm Grove Rd., Elm Grove. For tickets, call 262-782-4430 or visit sunsetplayhouse.com.