Revolution Stage Company brings '25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' to Palm Springs
It’s not surprising that James Owens was drawn to directing the new production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” for Revolution Stage Company.
Owens has taught middle school science at a public school in Yucca Valley and, teaching remotely, an independent study program for a school in Los Angeles.
He is also a good speller.
“I was in my middle school spelling bee,” Owens said. “I was one of the top spellers in the sixth grade.”
Both experiences have given him special insights into the Tony Award-winning musical, which follows six students competing in their school’s spelling bee and three adults who are guiding them.
'Why We Like Spelling'
For the past year, James Owens put teaching aside as co-founder of Revolution Stage Company. He and co-founder Gary Powers were both drawn to “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”
“We've pored through hundreds of different shows for ideas, but this one was always rising to the top,” he said.
He describes the experience as “a bunch of really good actors and singers coming together to put together a funny show.”
With a Tony Award winning book by Rachel Sheinkin and with music and lyrics by William Finn (who received Tony Awards for his music and lyrics for “Falsettos”), the musical is based on an original improvisational play called “C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E.” (This is the moment when a spelling bee contestant might ask: May I have the language of origin and the definition? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “crepuscule” is derived from late Middle English: from Latin “crepusculum.” It means “twilight.”)
With humor and empathy, the musical also shares each young speller’s struggles, hopes, and dreams.
“It’s an interesting glimpse into a lot of what these children go through as youngsters,” said Owens. “For instance, one speller’s mother lives in India and her dad is absent. And she sings a really touching song about that. It happens to be my favorite song in the show –
‘The I Love You Song.’ And it's just beautiful.”
'My Friend, the Dictionary'
Kelly McDaniel portrays Rona Lisa Peretti who, as a student, won the third annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. As an adult, Rona is the moderator of the 25th annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Unlike her character, Kelly McDaniel admits she is not a champion speller.
“I am a terrible speller,” she said. “Really bad. Notoriously so. When I was younger, I was known to ask my sister who was six years younger than me how to spell words.”
But she understands how winning that championship impacted Rona’s life.
“I think of Rona as someone who thinks that she peaked early but she really hasn't,” McDaniel said. “She's a very successful single woman. But she still remembers how wonderful she felt that very first time that she won something. And she wants to recreate that magic for all of these children, not just for them, but for herself to remember that magic still exists in the world.”
For McDaniel, who teaches private voice lessons and has been an artist-in-residence for the Palm Springs Unified School District, the show’s music offers exciting challenges.
“The show has a mixture of two things for me,” she said. “Repeated melodies, which are very characteristic. They follow the characters throughout the show.”
She added, “Then there are really difficult harmonies. As a performer, it is really meaty.”
'Pandemonium'
Gus Sanchez is the production stage manager. A graduate of Palm Springs High School, he has worked with a number of regional theater companies.
”During rehearsals when we're working with the actors, a lot of my job is to write down the blocking [how actors move and position themselves on stage] or make notes of anything that lighting designers or sound designers or any of the designers would need to know,” Sanchez said.
He added: “So when we get to tech week [the week when the technical elements of a production come together before opening night] and somebody says ‘I don't remember what I'm supposed to do at this part,’ I always have the answer.”
For this production, Sanchez was also offered the opportunity to serve as an assistant director for the first time.
“A lot of it is my input,” he said. “If I have any suggestions about the way a scene looks or maybe there's an easier way to get across the stage. And James wants me to block a scene or two.”
Once the production opens, Sanchez describes a stage manager as “the person leading the ship. They're the one running around with their head cut off, making sure everybody is in their place, and that they have their props, and they're wearing the right costumes.”
The cast and crew members for this musical must also be ready to deal with the unexpected, because audience volunteers have the chance to participate in the spelling bee. That means each performance is different.
'My Favorite Moment of the Bee'
What word would each of these professionals use to describe this musical? (For the record: Each spelled their word correctly.)
For stage manager Gus Sanchez, it’s “pandemonium,” which is also the name of a song featured in the show. (According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “pandemonium” is of Greek derivation and means “a wild uproar” or “tumult.”)
For Kelly McDaniel, the word is “entropic.” (From Oxford Languages: the word “entropic” is from the mid 19th century and means “transformation.”)
“Entropy means organized chaos in the scientific world,” McDaniel said. “Like every other play, we have a script to follow. But because we use volunteers, even us, as actors on stage, have no idea what's going to happen next.”
She added, “We know that somebody's going to win the bee. But other than that, so much chaos happens and it's delightful. That's the beauty of this show.”
For director James Owens, it’s a word – derived from late Middle English – that audiences love.
“E-n-t-e-r-t-a-i-n-i-n-g.”
If you go
What: Revolution Stage Company presents “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”
When: April 16-28 (April 16-18 and 23-25: Evening performances at 7 p.m.; April 27: Evening performance at 7:30 p.m.; April 27 and 28: Matinee performances at 2 p.m.)
Where: Revolution Stage Company, 611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
Cost: $45 (adult), $35 (senior, student, veteran/military)
More info: revolutionstagecompany.com
Barbara Kerr is an award-winning writer and journalist with a passion for stories about people, the arts and special events. Inducted into the Dayton (Ohio) Area Broadcasters Hall of Fame, she is a past chair of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) College of Fellows.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Revolution Stage Co. to stage '25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'
