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Casting Spells: AAFC to perform hilarious musical

By Tara Rack-Amber for The 6 min read
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Cast members from the upcoming production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” strike a pose at the end of a song. In front is Shawn Conway of Export as “Barfee” and in back from left are Barbara Lawson of Greensburg as “Olive,” Michael Orange of Latrobe as “Chip,” Anna Strauser of Uniontown as “Marcy,” Jessie Glover of Greensburg as “Leaf” and Layne Lueckert of Mt. Pleasant as Logainne. (Photo courtesy of the production.)

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Rehearsing the song “Woe is Me” are cast members Andy Hayes of Greensburg as “Dan Dad,” Layne Lueckert of Mt. Pleasant as “Logainne” and Loren McCullogh of Denora as “Carl Dad.” (Photo courtesy of the production.)

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Practicing the song “Magic Foot” are cast members from left Barbara Lawson of Greensburg as”Olive,” Anna Strauser of Uniontown as “Marcy,” Michael Orange of Latrobe as “Chip,” Layne Laeckert of Mt. Pleasant as “Logainne,” Shawn Conway of Export as “Barfee,” Jessie Glover of Greensburg as “Leaf” and Katti Grosso of Morgantown, W.Va. as “Rona Lisa Peretti.” (Photo courtesy of the production.)

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Reliving her glory days as the winner of the third annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is Katti Grosso of Morgantown, W.Va. who portrays spelling bee hostess “Rona Lisa Peretti.” (Photo courtesy of the production.)

How do you spell l-a-u-g-h-s? The answer can be found during the Actors and Artists of Fayette County’s production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” presented 7:30 p.m. July 20 through 22 and 2:30 p.m. July 23 at the Geyer Performing Arts Center.

“After directing a 60-some person cast of varying ages last year with ‘Disney’s The Little Mermaid,’ I wanted to challenge myself further by working with just adults and a very small cast,” explained Director Chelsea Forbes. “I chose ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ because I saw it years ago on Broadway, and I remembered how not only hilarious it was, but how poignant some of the scenes and songs were for someone who was still finding themselves and growing up. Now as an adult, I see myself again in these characters, struggling with various woes of being a child in a competitive spelling bee and trying to please not only themselves but everyone else in their lives.”

The musical shows the audience what happens when you mix six quirky, but intelligent kids, who have a desire to make not just themselves proud, but their loved ones as well; a challenging spelling bee; and a dash of audience participation.

“The musical is set in an underground gymnasium of an elementary school where the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is starting. We meet six unique spellers, all with their own quirks and personalities. We also meet Rona Lisa Perretti, a real estate agent in the county who won the spelling bee herself many years ago and wants to re-live that glory as the host of the bee, and her word pronouncer, Vice Principal Douglas Panch, who is returning after a mysterious five year hiatus. Mitch Mahoney, the comfort counselor just released on parole and one of the speller’s two gay dads round out this hilarious cast,” said Forbes. “Through the musical, we see the spellers struggle with their own desires versus what is expected of them, such as the young boy who just wants to prove to his family that he really is smart and the young girl who wants nothing more than a mother’s love. The cast deals with issues every child faced at one point or another, from bullying to puberty.”

The actors are not the only ones who get in on the act.

“Every night, four audience members are selected from volunteers from the audience to be four of the missing spellers and they do actually have to spell and attempt to win the bee,” said Forbes. “We will be in the theater’s lobby before the show starts for people to write down their names and place them in a hat to be selected at random each night. These four audience members are NOT pre-selected; it is random every night so everyone who is interested has a solid chance at being onstage for part of the show! Only one speller wins the bee, but each character grows up in one way or another, adults and kids.”

For Forbes, the musical has also become a family affair.

“The hardest but most fun challenge I have faced is also my favorite part of the show and that is getting to direct the two of the most important men in my life; my father and my boyfriend. My father, Jack Forbes, plays the dry humored Vice Principal Panch and my boyfriend, Shawn Conway, is one of my leads as the speller William Barfee. Directing both of them has been a challenge to separate myself from my other role in their life, but it has also been extremely natural to work with them and discuss their characters and what we both need to see from them,” she said. “This is my father’s first musical ever and it has been such a joy to see him shining onstage when the spellers crack up at a particular word he has chosen and seeing him grow so much as an actor by being in this different setting.

“Shawn has not been onstage as a lead in a musical for some time, but it is like riding a bike for him; he excels in this role every night and puts so much time into his character work. Both of them respect me as a director, but they have also been supportive when I need my dad or my boyfriend to lend a hand or just listen. In this process, I am also honored enough to work with my mother, Marilyn Forbes, as my stage manager and though this is her first time stage managing a musical, she has taken to the role with such drive and determination that I rarely need to ask her to perform a task. With Marilyn I have Ally Riddle, my assistant stage manager who I see a lot of myself in. She is a mature young woman who has completely risen above all expectations I had of working with her, and she continues to gain respect and admiration from a cast of people much older and more experienced than her, though you would never know by attending a rehearsal and seeing how naturally she works with each of them.”

Staring alongside Conway’s Barfee is Barbara Lawson as Olive Ostrovsky and Katti Grosso as Rona Lisa Perretti.

“The audience should expect to see a musical unlike any other, with comedy and drama and real life situations. The cast, though small in size, will wow the audience with their vocal and acting talents, fluidly moving from one childhood struggle to the next with ease and maturity,” said Forbes. “As the cast is 18 and over, watching the spellers become children is magnificent; you never believe they are actual adults through the entire show.”

Even though the musical features children at a spelling bee, the performance is not recommended for young children and is comparable to a PG-13 rating due to some adult themes.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online through geyerpac.com or by calling the theater’s box office at 724-887-0887.

“I hope the audience takes away the fun parts of the musical and still laughs about the jokes later that evening, but I also hope they realize and remember those struggles we all went through as children and are humbled by these remembrances. This musical is so much more than a spelling bee, just as every actor, speller, counselor and adult are so much more than they appear to be,” said Forbes. ” I have immensely enjoyed working with this phenomenal cast and I hope the audience realizes the work each of the cast members and crew members have put into this unique show in order to make it entertaining and fun for all.”

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