As a former spelling bee contestant (and loser), this musical spoke to me when I saw it on Broadway in 2004 and I knew I had to direct it.
DIRECTOR'S NOTES:
In a world where we willingly limit our communication to 140 digital characters, it is so refreshing that this delightful musical dares to sing the praises of words. Words deserve to be celebrated. Words have life literally breathed into them when they are spoken. Words evolve and change. New words are added to our vocabulary every day. Words are history. They have their own DNA. They are amalgams of cultures. A word's sound, meaning, and spelling is the result of centuries of human conquest, cooperation, and competition.
Words are survivors.
That's why they resonate so strongly with the characters in this play. The spelling bee becomes a Darwinian fight to the finish, one more arena that humans have created in which to sanction publicly and codify our basic need to compete and survive. Through competition , the adolescent participants of the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling bee explore their own emerging identities as they seek to gain mastery over the pubescent pandemonium of their environment. Taking part in the bee introduces them to the eternal life lessons that get repeatedly taught with each subsequent year's contest. As with any sport ; ambition, desire, ethics, hope, victory, and loss will play major roles before the intense rivalries are through.
The crucial education that is gained may not register for all the bee's contestants immediately, but as William Finn's brilliant lyrics remind us , "It's a very nice beginning."
DIRECTOR'S NOTES:
In a world where we willingly limit our communication to 140 digital characters, it is so refreshing that this delightful musical dares to sing the praises of words. Words deserve to be celebrated. Words have life literally breathed into them when they are spoken. Words evolve and change. New words are added to our vocabulary every day. Words are history. They have their own DNA. They are amalgams of cultures. A word's sound, meaning, and spelling is the result of centuries of human conquest, cooperation, and competition.
Words are survivors.
That's why they resonate so strongly with the characters in this play. The spelling bee becomes a Darwinian fight to the finish, one more arena that humans have created in which to sanction publicly and codify our basic need to compete and survive. Through competition , the adolescent participants of the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling bee explore their own emerging identities as they seek to gain mastery over the pubescent pandemonium of their environment. Taking part in the bee introduces them to the eternal life lessons that get repeatedly taught with each subsequent year's contest. As with any sport ; ambition, desire, ethics, hope, victory, and loss will play major roles before the intense rivalries are through.
The crucial education that is gained may not register for all the bee's contestants immediately, but as William Finn's brilliant lyrics remind us , "It's a very nice beginning."
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