A "Spelling Bee" to Remember at NCT

Photo: Marilyn Scanlon

Judging by the number of open seats at the New Candlelight's Saturday opening of William Finn's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the relatively obscure comic musical doesn't have the up-front draw of big names like Miss Saigon, Annie or Cats. That's too bad, because Spelling Bee is every bit as entertaining as the bigger shows, and more fun than your average musical.

Under the direction of Robert M. Kelly, Spelling Bee tells the story of -- well, a spelling bee. If that sounds dull to you, you're probably not familiar with the quirks, pressure and sheer drama of spelling bees, and you've definitely not seen the subject handled in such a funny and charming way. And when I say funny, I mean Spelling Bee is hilarious.

In the first Act, Rona Lisa Perretti (Lindsay Mauck), the moderator and winner of the 3rd Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, introduces the competitors: Reigning champion Chip Tolentino (Anthony Connell), mini political activist Logainne "Swartzy" Schwartzandgruennier (Michelle Cabot), caped homeschooled outcast Leaf Coneybear (Billy Hart), sniffling nerd William "Barfy" Barfée (David T. Snyder), parochial school genius Marcy Park (Dana Kreitz), and anxious and addled Olive Ostrovsky (Victoria Healy). Then, in addition to the six scripted characters, she calls the names of four real audience members who join the actors on stage to participate in the bee. So basically, no one knows what's going to happen. When you see it -- and you should -- Act I will play out differently, and that, of course, is part of the fun. We had a great, sharp group of audience volunteers on Saturday, and really, there aren't many things funnier than the dance number that included the volunteers (who, of course, didn't know the choreography). It adds a level of interactive-ness, even among the seated audience, that few shows have.

Billy Hart, Michelle Cabot, Dana Kreitz and Anthony Connell. Photo: Marilyn Scanlon

As great as the audience participation is, the show is about the six young spellers, Rona, and her co-moderator Vice Principal Panch (Ryan Ruggles). Over to the side is Daniel Bontempo as Mitch Mahoney, a parolee earning community service credits by escorting losing contestants off the stage and comforting them with a juice box. Keep an eye on Bontempo -- Mitch is a small part, but he magically transforms into other characters in the minds of the contestants. He plays the more nurturing of of Swarzy's two fathers, with Hart dropping the goofy facade of Leaf to play her uber-competitive, win-at-any-cost dad. He also plays Olive's absent father, a distant man in a business suit who sings to her, along with Mauck as her really absent mother, in the most moving scene of the show.

Yes, as hilarious as it is, the show is moving, even emotional, with heart that exists in any really good work of comedy. These are children under tremendous pressure to excel, hormones just starting to rage, and they all have a sadness about them. One by one, they are eliminated, each responding in a different way. The last two standing are the ones who most want to be there, and you feel it, because all of the actors play their parts perfectly. I've said it before -- if you haven't been to the NCT, you're missing out. I hope word spreads about this show, and it starts selling out night after night until it closes on October 28. It deserves it.

For tickets and show times, go to http://www.nctstage.org/.

Here She is Delaware, and You Don't Want to Miss Her!

The Wilmington Drama League (WDL) opens its 79^th season with the quintessential Broadway musical, Gypsy. Tommy Fisher-Klein does a capital job directing this classic show with a book by Arthur Lurents, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Mr. Fisher-Klein’s production uses a minimalist set by John Fisher-Klein, so the audience focuses on the characters and the true story of a stage mother in the early 1900’s who’s determined to make her two daughters into stars.

Tina Sheing plays the obsessive stage mother, Rose, who will stop at nothing to make her daughters’ dreams come true, or really Rose’s dream of startdom. Ms. Sheing captures the many facets of the character – loving, overbearing, selfish, ruthless, controlling, resourceful, determined and loud!  She is a woman who won’t take no for an answer. Ms. Sheing’s intensity is like walking over a partially frozen pond, you know when she will crack and explode into a tirade when another character attempts to stop her mission. Sheing’s superb voice handles the show’s iconic songs, such as Some People and Rose’s Turn, with great verve.

Among the many standout performances, Ms. Sheing shares the stage with Pat Sutton as Rose’s “spineless” beau and her daughters’ manager, Herbie, and Ashley Wright as Rose’s shy daughter, Louise, who plays second to her star stealing sister, but later becomes the world’s most famous burlesque performer, Gypsy Rose Lee. Both Mr. Sutton and Ms. Wright give transformational performances. Initially both characters are stunted by Rose’s domineering personality, but by the end, both find their own voices and gain control of their own lives. In addition to Mr. Sutton and Ms. Wright’s excellent performances, Lizzy Sprague as the charismatic June, Rose’s beautiful and talented daughter; Dan Sanchez as one of June’s backup dancers, Tulsa, Nicole Hemphill as the younger version of June (Baby June); and Talia Speak as the younger version of Louise (Baby Louise) give fine performances.

However, the audience has to wait until the second act before three of the shows most comical characters are introduced, Tessie Tura (played by Jodi Persing), Mazeppa (played by Meaghan Gonzalez), and Electra (played by Maureen Cotellese). The three professional burlesque performers introduce Louise to the art of stripping with the humorous musical number You Gotta Get a Gimmick. Sure anyone can be a stripper, but to be a star you have to set yourself apart from the other burlesque performers. All three women give stellar performances and they know exactly how to bump and grind it!

After listening to so many beloved show tunes, I walked out of the theater joyfully humming some of my favorite songs from the show, Everything’s Coming up Roses and Together, Wherever We Go. I’m hoping to make it back to WDL to see it one more time!

Gypsy closes September 23. To order tickets, call 302.764.1172 or visit www.wilmingtondramaleague.org. 

Taiwan Film Festival at the Delaware Art Museum

The Delaware Art Museum is hosting the fourth annual Taiwan Film Festival presented by the Hanlin Chinese Culture Association, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, Taiwan, and the Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York.

The films are spectacular and sometimes even daunting. This Sunday I arrived at the Art Museum a bit early and had a fun time speaking to members of the predominantly Chinese crowd of spectators. The film being presented was a documentary by Director Chaoti Ho called My fancy high heels. It starts in New York City following a Korean-American fashion designer who is a beautiful, soft-spoken and determined woman who has made a start in the maze of the fashion world. She speaks of her hard work, long hours and her passion for shoes which she regards as pieces of art. The director then shows us the two levels of Chinese production behind her shoes: a harsh end-production factory with a strict manager who speaks English as he sells to Western buyers and then the stage before that – an almost militaristic farm/factory where young people tend and process cattle raised exclusively to produce leather for the highest end of shoes on the market.

This movie forces the viewer to reconsider the entire shoe industry. The music and cinematography are graphic and the story is an extremely moving picture of a China which Americans may not know but in which their purchases and tastes are driving forces. The next film is to be a much more uplifting work about cinematography by Hsiu-Chiung Chiang and Pun-Leung Kwan. Let the wind carry me will be shown at the Delaware Art Museum at 1 p.m. on September 16. Free admission to museum and to film on Sundays.

See www.delart.org