Review: '25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee' is a long title for a funny musical
“The Bee” is an offbeat kind of musical comedy that turns out to be pretty funny in the Wild Horse Theater’s production, weekends through April 24 at 8 p.m. at the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada, 813 N. Carson St.
There are six contestants for the Bee’s prize, a large trophy and $200. They are Chip (James McDuffie), Logainne (Maggie Jesse), Coneybear (Rod Hearn), William (Christopher Willson), Marcy (Robin Kato) and Olive (Dezi Davis). The they all do a fine job in this quick-paced musical (you never see the orchestra —Milus Scruggs, Ann Cosens, Lou Groffman and Russ Law). Also on hand are Tom Strekal as the vice principal, Marcia Martinez Bateman as Rona, the MC, and Leony Berg as Mitch.
Jesse is the first-place winner of last year’s Bee and is aiming for a repeat. She is winsome and vibrant in her role. McDuffie is a Boy Scout you’ve probably met somewhere; Hearn is active with a fine head of hair; Willson is the snippy nerd; Kato the over achieving multi-lingual; and Davis has a dictionary as her best friend.
That’s the cast. What they do is exceptional in that old barn of a museum; they keep the action rolling, the laughs constant and the pace rapid. Director Jeffrey Scott with the assistance of producers Carol Scott and Pat Josten, has turned this musical joke into a lot of fun.
Tickets for “Bee” are $18 for general public and $15 for seniors and students. Tickets can be purchased at www.wildhorsetheater.com or by calling (775) 882-3497. This is PG-13, incidentally, so take that into mind.