Dream coat Fantasy Theatre is presenting a modern musical about the pressures of adolescence in the geeky but cut-throat world of American competitive spelling in The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee.”
Better known for children and family based musical theatre; Dream coat has made selective forays into other more mature musical projects like Little Shop of Horrors for teens in recent years.
The Spelling Bee musical was written in 2005 and depicts 21st-century sixth graders attempting to out-do each other and make it to the national Spelling bee in Washington.
One aspect of this play that sets it apart is the opportunity for audience involvement as some volunteers are needed to fill the quota of contestants. Each performance is slightly different due to the different audience contestants.
Spelling Bee features a cast of teenage performers from several local high schools who have come through the Dreamcoat children’s program.
“The Dreamcoat experience has built excellent foundational skills for these young actors and singers,” says director Chris Mogan. “There isn’t a wide range of musical projects that tackle the experience of adolescence in society today. Spelling Bee has a light touch, but it shows puberty, peer and family pressures, as well as gender and bullying issues, regular kinds of struggles.”
The students have worked hard to master the challenging musical score under the direction of Samantha Sloat and accompanist Marilyn Sutherland. “The smaller cast has a different energy than other musicals that can have 50 or more performers”, says Mogan. “Each interaction on stage is a little more under the microscope.”
Show dates for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee are November 24th to Saturday, November Nov 26th inclusive at West Ferris Secondary School Theatre at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available for $15 at the door or by email reservation [email protected] or by calling 705-472-1590
