by Cari Lynn Pace *
Welcome to Putnam County, where a middle school spelling bee championship takes place with a ragtag collection of juveniles and two clearly biased judges. William Finn wrote the clever words and music to two dozen numbers based on Rachel Sheinkin’s book presented onstage at the Novato Theater Company.
Adults play the roles of the competing kids, with all their childish selfishness and squabbling. It’s an over-the-top musical with the most laugh-out-loud moments of any show this year.
Director Larry Williams, no slouch at comedy himself, zeroed in on each actor’s particular personality and let ‘er rip. The fun starts with preening former Putnam County Spelling Bee champion Rona Lisa Peretti (Daniela Innocenti Beem, with Jane Harrington as alternate) who presides over the young contestants in the contest. She is seated as a judge alongside clueless Vice Principal Douglas Panch. Pat Barr plays this role perfectly in a plaid suit and loud tie, alternating with John Griffin.
One by one the students go to the microphone to spell their word, fearful for the disqualifying bell of the judge. They sing of how spelling became their life, while musicians accompany them under direction of Christopher Hewitt. Song titles like “I’m Not That Smart” and “I Speak Six Languages” give clues to the contestants’ attitudes. The colorful costumes designed by Christina Stephan and Cheryl Evans match personalities to the students, from prim uniforms to a skateboarder’s helmet.
The six actors competing in the contest are joined onstage by three volunteers from the audience. Each performance will have its own audience members flubbing or finishing their word. This gives an improvisational feel to each show, particularly when one unlucky volunteer tries to spell a polysyllabic archaic word, and the other is asked to spell “cow.”
Beem and Barr lead the way for the entire cast to show off fine voices with spot-on timing, including Emily Rutledge who nails her vocals and Carly Harrington with an adorable lisp. Dominic Marco Canty plays a youngster who cannot spell a word until he traces it out with his foot on the floor. Naturally other contestants spill something sticky near the microphone.
There’s a lot to like in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The show is paced well and moves quickly with constant laughter to fit the tight choreography by Marilyn Izdebski. The quirky characters are lovable indeed, including Nicholas Augusta as an ex-con doing community hours by escorting losers off the stage.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is, in two words, a true champion.
Playing through October 11, 2026 at the Novato Theater Company Playhouse, 5420 Nave Dr. (Suite C), Novato.
Click HERE for more information and tickets.
Photos by Jere Torkelsen
Cari Lynn Pace is a long-time Bay Area theatre critic whose reviews were regularly featured in the Marinscope Community Newspapers and a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and Marquee Theater Journalists Association.
