Laughter, Antics at "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"

It was pure escapism as crowds in the Campbell Performing Arts Center’s Asen Theater laughed along with the spelling bee contestants, one more outlandish than the next, and the adults who ran the bee and added to the commotion. (Any resemblance to Groton’s own spelling bee, run by Assistant Head Andy Anderson and Dean of Faculty John Conner, was purely coincidental!)

 

Adding to the fun was audience participation: spectators were pulled on stage and actually participated in the spelling bee alongside the real cast, which included Julien Alam ’19, Christian Carson ’18, Phoebe Fry ’17, Mac Galinson ’17, Malik Gaye ’18, Charlie Hawkings ’17, Lilias Kim ’18, Cho Nikoi ’19, Michael Senko ’18, Max Solomon ’19, Alex Waxman ’18, and Elyssa Wolf ’17. 

The good sports from the audience included Mr. Anderson, English teachers Ellen Rennard and Jonathan Freeman-Coppadge, Assistant Director of Admission Randi Dumont, organist Dan Moriarty, science teacher Steve Belsky, the Reverend Christopher Whiteman (school chaplain), faculty child Vivan Das, and Groton students Nina Norton ’18 and Lwazi Bululu '20.

 

“One of the best things about the show was to see students and faculty sitting side by side in the audience sharing humor,” said director Laurie Sales, who heads Groton’s theater program. “Teachers were gracious enough to let our cast poke some fun at them.” That shared humor helps build community, she added, and can make an impact long after the play ends.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, written by Rachel Sheinkin with music by William Finn, opened on Broadway in 2005; it was nominated for six Tony Awards and won two. 

Mark your calendars for the next theater productions at Groton: A Musical Revue February 3–5 and Black Comedy February 24–25.

See photos from Groton School's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.