Story By John Mann

The Whole Backstage Theater in Guntersville has started dress rehearsal for their next main production, a musical comedy about the world of competitive spelling called “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

“Right now we’re in a very good spot,” Director Kory Duquette said. “We only had nine weeks to put this together but this cast and crew was so motivated to make this a great show that they came in on days we never scheduled to practice the choreography, the singing, the lines so that in just four weeks we were off the book. I’ve been so impressed with them.”

Originally debuting on Broadway in 2005 the play tells the story of six middle schoolers taking part in the titular spelling bee as they explore their own personal struggles and show off their unique quirks. The six main spellers are led by Josie Duquette as Olive, a newcomer to the bee who shows up having not paid her entry fee and is waiting on her neglectful father to come to the competition. The three adult characters include moderator Rona Lisa Peretti played by Amanda Hollingsworth, word pronouncer Doug Panch played by Christopher Carter and comfort counselor Mitch Mahoney played by Bryan White.

For The Whole Backstage’s production of the show there are also the addition of four featured spellers, with each actor allowed to develop their own character from their name to their personality, who will join the six established spellers in the cast.

“The six main spellers have their own specific key features and personalities,” Duquette said. “And now we have four more personalities added to the show, so you have pretty much every personality you’d have in a school you have your metalhead, you have your goth, cheerleader, nerds and preps. I wanted to make sure I had every social aspect for groups of kids that age.”

As is tradition for the show there will also be audience participation where members of the crowd will get to come on stage and take part in the spelling bee themselves. By visiting Duquette’s Facebook page you can find a pinned public post where you can sign up to be a guest speller during the show, which will also be made available on the theater’s website.

“We’re going to have audience participation,” Duquette said. “We want to see people come and try to out spell our spellers. I’m really excited about that aspect and getting the community involved it’s what I think makes this show unique.”

As far as the set design goes things are fairly simple, with the entire play taking place in one location, but it does have some quirks for the audience. Duquette and his crew repainted the main stage a bright yellow giving the entire set a blue and gold color theme. The bleachers where the speller’s sit was built and designed to fully allow the actors to use it as a platform for choreography, which Duquette says the show features prominently thanks to the efforts of choreographer Kyven Conley, who also plays the role of main speller Chip Toelentino.

“The choreography for this show is pretty intense,” Duquette says. “Usually you don’t see these kinds of musicals have that much chorography but Kyven just took it and ran with it and it’s absolutely beautiful.”

When it comes to the music the show has a variety of songs split among the characters, opening with the titular ensemble number “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Most of the songs take place within the spellers heads as they are each confronted with a new word, tying it back to something they are dealing with in their home life. Leaf Coneybear for example, played by Kris Hamlin, is a homeschooled student who’s family doesn’t treat him as very smart which he has himself internalized as shown in the song “I’m Not That Smart” but he still finds a way to spell out his words. While most of the show is upbeat in tone it also reaches an emotional peak with “The I Love You Song” sung by Olive about her relationship with her parents.

“I think the thing I’m happiest about is that the cast has gone out of their way to make sure that this show is perfect,” Duquette said. “I’m talking vocally, the choreography, the blocking and for them to dedicate their time on off days where we didn’t have scheduled rehearsals to me shows how badly they wanted to make this show good and I’m so proud of them. I think this is going to be an amazing product when it’s all said and done.”

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will open on October 10 and run through October 19 for a total of seven shows. The play is rated PG-13 for mild language and some suggestive scenes, though Duquette says that he feels the show is suitable for all ages. All shows will begin at 7 p.m. with the exception of Sunday shows, which begin at 2 p.m.

For tickets and more information about The Whole Backstage Theater in Guntersville visit their website at wholebackstage.com