I attended Hinsdale South’s spring musical, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” on opening day. At first, I was a little concerned about how our theater department would pull-off making a spelling bee into a good musical. However, the cast and crew proved again that they are insanely talented. How could I sit in an auditorium for two hours straight  enjoying a production about a spelling bee? This musical was filled with humor, while also bringing intense emotions, making the audience connect with the cast and the characters they were playing.

The crowd’s favorite part of the play appeared to be audience interaction.

“I loved it when all those different teachers went on stage and had to spell random words,” junior Isabella Cortez said. “It was so well-thought-out.”

“It felt like I was actually in the audience of a real spelling bee,” junior Michael VanAllen said. (Throwing candy to the audience was also a favorite for those who didn’t purchase anything at concessions.) Any time someone from the audience was somehow incorporated into the play, the laughter in the auditorium was unmatched. 

I was most impressed by the actors who faked a lisp for the entire play while maintaining incredible vocals during their songs. These stars included sophomore Annina Garro, as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere and senior Sophia Yen, as Olive Ostrovsky. It takes raw talent to sing amazingly while faking a lisp. This production, of course, couldn’t be done without the rest of the actors and ensemble as well. They added so much liveliness and fun; the show really wouldn’t have been the same without them. 

Arguably the best aspect of this production was the contradictory emotions one feels. You go from laughing at Leaf, played by junior Quinn Isberg, falling off the bleachers, to crying when realizing that Olive’s dad will not be coming to watch her compete. You can hate William Barfée, played by freshman Eli Sadowski, for his cocky persona, but you can’t help but admire his ambition. You might think Marcy, played by junior Luiza Olivera, is stuck up, yet you’ll soon realize that she’s just a girl with the weight of her parents’ expectations on her shoulders. Each of these characters is so insanely complex. Along with that, character variety allowed everyone in the audience to see a bit of themselves in at least one of them. Junior Heather Stephens said  she saw herself the most in Leaf, “because he is the largest comedic relief, but he still struggles [to keep] his composure 100 percent of the time.”