Spelling Bee Premiere at SH Cultural Center

By Tiffany Razzano

Bethany Dellapolla leads the cast of the award-winning musical. Photo by Tom Kochie

Coinciding with the last few days of the Hamptons International Film Festival, the Long Island premiere of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will take place at the Southampton Cultural Center on Sunday, October 11 at 5 p.m. After this initial performance, the show will run through November 1, with performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

This Tony Award-winning musical comedy centers around six quirky students competing in a spelling bee at Putnam County Middle School. "It's a rather irreverent look at the children who participate in spelling bees," said Michael Disher, the show's director. "Most have a reputation for being somewhat awkward, geeky children. This show very lovingly proposes that yes, they're quirky, yes, they're awkward, but they're dear human beings with many, many attributes." And by the end of the show, each character has learned something about him or herself, "some for better, some for worse, as is life. But they each leave with something more valuable than a trophy."

Bringing in a blend of veterans of the shows at the Cultural Center and some newcomers, Spelling Bee also breaks down the fourth wall, which is the imaginary barrier separating the audience from the performers on stage. Each performance is different from the next, since four audience members are brought on stage to participate in the spelling bee. "It's unpredictable. It's a different show every night," Disher said. "The four people from the audience...we have no idea if they can spell. We have no idea how bright they may or may not be." This turns the show into what Disher likes to call "reality theater." The young actors on stage have no preparation for what may happen each night, forcing them to rely on their wits. "It's scary. They're scared and they should be!"

Disher bringing Spelling Bee to the East End for the Long Island premiere is "a real stroke of fate, quite honestly." He was initially set to produce Godspell, going so far as to select the cast for the show. But when some cast members had to drop out at the last minute, among other strokes of bad luck, he was left scrambling for a new show to produce mid-August. With a cast already in place, it had to be an ensemble piece that was complementary to those actors. Looking through the registry of musicals available to regional theaters, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Spelling Bee was available and had never been performed on Long Island.

Tickets to The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee are $25, $10 for students under 21. Tickets to the special opening night performance with catered refreshments are $45. For more information, go to southamptonculturalcenter.org.

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