FARMINGTON — You may not have heard of this 2005 Tony Award Winning musical with music and lyrics by William Finn, book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman, and with additional material by Jay Reiss, but you will not forget it once you’ve seen it! The musical features an addictive original score, a cast of zany, endearing ‘tween spellers, and a fast-paced, hysterical spelling competition. Mt. Blue Theater Company has chosen this show for its spring production
to be staged on May 9, 10, and 11 at the Bjorn Auditorium on Mt. Blue Campus at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $5.00 for students, and $8 for adults.
Director Deborah Muise and Musical Director Jane Parker chose this show after reviewing several options because of its light-hearted but touching message, plus the music is smart,
funny, and catchy. The cast and crew have been rehearsing with accompanist Andrea Keirstead and with student assistant director Milo helping out. Students Elysia Roorbach, Zinnia James, Gabbe Duvall, Kennady Savage, and Charlie Eng have all been working on the choreography.
The show begins with a former spelling bee champion, Ms. Rona Barrett, (played by senior, Elysia Roorbach) reminiscing about her glory days at the bee. She sets up the show, introducing the current sixth grade spellers played by Ben Marcotte, Isabelle Rogers, Charlie Eng, Hope Chernesky, Caitlin Zamboni, and Molly Gurney. Each character has a touching, awkward, and often heartbreaking backstory that we learn about throughout the show in flashbacks as well as in show-stopping numbers like “I Speak Six Languages” or “Magic Foot.”

The bee is run by Rona, Vice Principal Panch (Trevor Sennick), and “Mitch” Mahoney (Rachel Spear) and features special appearances by audience volunteers. As the evening goes on the spellers learn valuable lessons about themselves and about winning. The production at Mt. Blue features a chorus of “Spelling Boosters” who play small roles along the way as well as adding their voices supporting the spellers in chorus throughout the show. The boosters are Zinnia James, Taegan Heath, Alex Nichols, Gabbe Duvall, Phoebe Rogers, Emily Willett, and Megan O’Donnell. There’s also a pit band of Andrea Keirstead (keyboard), Amy LeBlanc (cello), Hallie Pike (clarinet), and Ian Berry (percussion) with Jane Parker conducting.

So whether you’ve heard of this show or not, you definitely need to check out Mt. Blue’s production on May 9, 10, or 11. Please note, although the show is about sixth graders it is rated PG, however. There is one song with very frank references that some may find offensive. Tickets will be available at the door starting at 6:00 each night. Please consider being an audience volunteer and participating in the spelling fun.

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