Putnam County’s spelldown promotes o-r-t-h-o-g-r-a-p-h-y to the level of an art form
THE CAST AND crew of this fall’s Mountain Lake Public High School musical, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Front, from left, Ruben Fentanez, Olivia Hopwood, Caleb Rempel, Ben Grev and Lydia Hildebrandt. Back, form left, Jareya Harder, Kalley Rempel, Meredith Suess, Carmen Syverson, Brook Sunderman, Ethan Karschnik, Sam Grev, Liana Blomgren, Isaac Grev, Jenny Wright, Rebekah Klassen and Regan Syverson.
Mountain Lake Public High School (MLHS) thespians from the school’s Drama Department participated in a little word play dudring this fall’s musical, bringing to life the intense competition and inner-workings of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” At the same time, the cast and crew promoted orthography ( the way in which the words of a language are spelled) to the level of an art form. The production was held this past Friday, November 14 and Saturday, November 15, in the school’s auditorium.
In the Putnam County contest, an eclectic group of six quirky adolescents from Putnam County schools – Chip Tolentino, Logainne “Schwartzy” Schwartzandgrubenierre), Leaf Coneybear, William Barfee’, Marcy Mark and Olive Osgtrovsky (plus a handful of Volunteer Spellers pulled from the audience) – vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The bee is run by three equally quirky grown-ups – Spelling Bee Moderator (and former Putnam County spelling champ) Rona Lisa Peretti, Spelling Bee pronouncer Vice-Principal Doug Panch and Spelling Bee comfort counselor (and ex-convict performing court-mandated community service) Mitch Mahoney.
While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of words hoping to never hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake.
Six spellers (plus a few more) enter – but only one speller leaves! (At least the losers do get a juice box from Mitch Mahoney!)
The production is a musical comedy conceived by Rebecca Feldman, with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin, and additional material by Jay Reiss.
PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING Bee Coordinator (and former spelling Bee champion) Rona Lisa Peretti (Lydia Hildebrandt), left – stationed by the dictionary – and Vice-Principal Doug Panch (Ethan Karschnik), the bee’s pronouncer, right – stationed by the list of words – are set to kick off the bee’s 25th edition.
THIS PHOTO, HOWEVER, focuses on how Vice-Principal Doug Panch (Ethan Karschnik), right, really views Rona Lisa Peretti (Lydia Hildebrandt), left – and that is through the eyes of love. Unfortunately, Peretti has no time for Panch.
EVERY COMPETITION HAS rules of participation, and a Spelling Bee is no exception. Above, the contestants and Rona Lisa Peretti explain those rules in song – “The Spelling Rules” song. From left, Marcy Park (Carmen Syverson), Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Olivia Hopwood), William Barfee’ (Sam Grev), Chip Tolentino (Caleb Rempel), Leaf Coneybear (Ben Grev), Olive Ostrovsky (Jenny Wright) and Spelling Bee Moderator and former champion, Rona Lisa Peretti (Lydia Hildebrandt).
FROM THERE, THE action moves into Rona Lisa Peretti’s (Lydia Hildebrandt), center, favorite moment of the bee. Joining in with her memories are, seated, Marcy Park (Carmen Syverson), left and Loggaine Schwartzandgrubenierre (Olivia Hopwood), right; kneeling, William Barfee’ (Sam Grev), left and Olive Ostrovsky (Jenny Wright), right and standing, Chip Tolentino (Caleb Rempel), left and Leaf Coneybear (Ben Grev), right.
A LOOK AT those gathered to receive their words to spell clearly places on display a competition between contestants that is consistently a contrast between cooperation and cutthroat. Front, from left, Leaf Coneybear (Ben Grev), getting his shoe tied by Volunteer Speller Brook Sunderman, watched by Marcy Park (Carmen Syverson) and Olive Ostrovsky (Jenny Wright) absorbed in thought. Middle, Volunteer Speller Kalley Rempel and jousting competitors Logainne Schwartzangrubenierre (Olivia Hopwood) and William Barfee’ (Sam Grev). Back, observing it all, are Chip Tolentino (Caleby Rempel), Volunteer Speller Isaac Grev and Volunteer Speller Rebekah Klassen.
LOGAINNE SCHWARTZANDGRUBENIERRE’S GETS very involved with her first word – strabismus – which is defined as cross-eyed.
LEAF CONEYBEAR (BEN Grev) only advanced to the Putnam County Spelling Bee county finals because the winner and runner-up ahead of him could not attend. Fortunately, he becomes privy to spelling knowledge, courtesy of a “puppetwhisperer.” In fact, several of the spellers have spelling idiosyncrasies that assist them in spelling correctly, just like Leaf. Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre “finger-writes” each word out on her arm, and . . .
. . . OLIVE OSTROVSKY (JENNY Wright) speaks the letters of each word into her hand to hear how it sounds. And then there is . . .
. . . SPELLER WILLIAM BARFEE,’ who has the unique way of spelling the words he is given – writing them out on the floor in order to give him a visual. Above, William Barfee’ (Sam Grev) finishes the “magic foot” spelling of his word with a flourish. Closely observing his technique are, front, from left, Leaf Coneybear (Ben Grev), Marcy Park (Carmen Syverson) and Olive Ostrovsky (Jenny Wright) and back, Volunteer Speller Kalley Rempel, left and Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Olivia Hopwood).
COMPETING IN A spelling bee at this level can get very intense – and unfair at the difficulty level of words handed out – and the spellers erupt in the song, “Pandemonium.” They eventually take over the officials’ desk, with Chip Tolentino (Caleb Rempel), standing and singing atop while his cohorts join hands and dance ’round the setting. Clockwise from top right, Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Olivia Hopwood), Leaf Honeybear (Ben Grev), Marcy Park (Carmen Syverson), Olive Ostrovsky (Jenny Wright), Rona Lisa Peretti (Lydia HIldebrandt) and William Barfee’ (Sam Grev).
THE WHIRLING DERVISH of hubbub eventually sucks in Rona Lisa Peretti (Lydia Hildebrandt), who is tossed around the tabletop by the assembled crowd. Tossing Peretti around the table are Leaf Coneybear (Ben Grev), Olive Ostrovsky (Jenny Wright), Chip Tolentino (Caleb Rempel), Marcy Park (Carmen Syverson), Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Olivia Hopwood), Vice-Principal Panch (Ethan Karschnik and William Barfee’ (Sam Grev).
SPELLING BEE COMFORT Counselor (and ex-convict performing court-mandated community service) Mitch Mahoney (Ruben Fentanez) collects the number from Volunteer Speller Rebekah Klassen after an incorrect spelling, escorting her from the stage – but – giving her a juice box.
THE SPELLING BEE Company joins with William Barfee’ to extop the virtues of his magic foot in the song, “Magic Foot.” Front, Marcy Park (Carmen Syverson), left and Olive Ostrovsky (Jenny Wright) right; middle, from left, Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Olivia Hopwood), William Barfee’ (Sam Grev) and Rona Lisa Peretti (Lydia Hildebrandt) and back, Leaf Coneybear (Ben Grev), left and Chip Tolentino (Caleb Rempel), right.
WHEN VOLUNTEER SPELLER Isaac Grev, left, is eliminated, Spelling Bee Comfort Counselor Mitch Mahoney (Ruben Fentanez), right, sings him a special serenade, “Prayer Of The Comfort Counselor.”
FINDING MEANING IN his life as a Spelling Bee comfort counselor, Mitch Mahoney (Ruben Fentanez), center, celebrates that new-found knowledge with the spellers, including, Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Olivia Hopwood), left and Olive Ostrovsky (Jenny Wright), right.
PITY TO THOSE spellers who are first eliminated – especially when you are last year’s winner. The punishment for that offense for Chip Tolentino (Caleb Rempel) is to pass through the audience selling snacks. He explains why he lost in the song, “Chip’s Lament.”
THE PARENTS OF Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere (Olivia Hopwood), center, differ in how to encourage her spelling perfection. At left, Logainne’s dad, Dan Schwartz (Regan Syverson) and at right, her mom, Carol Grubenierre (Liana Blomgren).
THE SPELLING ROUNDS ratchet up and fly by – and then seem to move in slo-mo – the spellers portraying each measurement of time. Above, Leaf Coneybear (Ben Grev) completes a slow motion pass around his fellow contestants, from left, Olive Ostrovsky (Jenny Wright), Marcy Park (Carmen Syverson) and Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Olivia Hopwood).
MARCY PARK (Carmen Syverson) rebels against her stress-filled life, where she is pushed to succeed in everything, with the song, “I Speak Six Languages.”
DURING THAT SAME song, Marcy Park appeals to Jesus, who teaches her that she is in control of her own life. Resolved to do what she wants – rather than what is expected – she intentionally misspells her word. Above, Marcy Park (Carmen Syverson), front, lends some brass to the music, with her backup singers, from left, Olive Ostrovsky (Jenny Wright), Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Olivia Hopwood) and Rona Lisa Peretti (Lydia Hildebrandt) provide the vocals. Not thrilled to be watching is William Barfee’ (Sam Grev), at back right.
AFTER VICE-PRINCIPAL Panch (Ethan Karschnik), right loses it over being repeatedly asked one too many times for the definition of a word, he receives some comfort counseling from Spelling Bee Comfort Counselor Mitch Mahoney (Ruben Fentanez), left – along with, of course – a juice box.
DESPITE THE FACT that her parents are too busy to be at the Spelling Bee (her mom is on a pilgrimage to India; her father is a workaholic), Olive Ostrovsky sings to them “The I Love You Song.” Above, Olive Ostrovsky (Jenny Wright), kneels at the feet of her mom (Kalley Rempel), while her dad (Isaac Grev) checks the time on his wristwatch.
LOGAINNE SCHWARTZANDGRUBENIERRE (OLIVIA Hopwood), left, is not all in on a plan cooked up by her mom, Carol Grubenierre (Liana Blomgren), to eliminate William Barfee’. The plan? To spill some pop so that the magic foot of Barfee’ gets stuck in the spilled sugary drink on the floor – and his spelling is stopped dead in its tracks.
INDEED, THE HATCHED plan works – for a moment. William Barfee’ learns, however, that he does not have to use his magic foot to be able to spell words correctly. In the above photo, William Barfee’ (Sam Grev), front, notices the stickiness on the bottom of his shoe while Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Olivia Hopwood), at right, hides her face in embarrassment.
IN A TWIST, the final two spellers in the contest, Olive Ostrovsky (Jenny Wright), left and William Barfee’ (Sam Grev), right, grow close to one another, sharing a dance and song with “Olive and Barfee’ Pas De Deux.”
A NEW SPELLING Bee champion is crowned. Accepting his trophy and savings bond is William Barfee’. He correctly spelled the word Weltanschauung (which means a particular philosophy or view of life; the worldview of an individual or group).
LIGHTS AND SOUND tech in the booth is Jareya Harder.
ON THE SPOTLIGHT is Meredith Suess.
MUSICAL DIRECTOR ANDREA Brinkman, left and Director Julie Brugman, right.
