The Kingswood Oxford Theater Department impressed the community once again with the production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” on Thursday, Nov. 7, and Friday, Nov. 8, in Roberts Theater.
Traditionally, Theater Director Kyle Reynolds opts for a play in the fall season and reserves the winter for the annual musical. In recent years, KO has put on “The Grown Ups,” “Hyper Focus,” and “Poems That Wander: Moving With Tracy K. Smith” in the fall, with each play providing new platforms for students to grow as actors and performers.
However, when the Blackbox Theater was affected by campus renovations and temporarily converted to a dining area, Mr. Reynolds knew that a musical would be a fun endeavor to bring some novelty to the students. “I felt that they needed a glimmer of hope; something new, something fun, something flashy that we’ve never done before,” Mr. Reynolds explained. “I’m always trying to surprise the kids, and I just thought that a musical could be a cool way to shake up the program and keep the kids on their toes.”
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” depicts the pressures and efforts of six middle school students as they compete to become the next spelling bee champion. Their personal stories and struggles are revealed as each works toward self-acceptance.
Sophomore Teague Shamleffer, who played Assistant Vice Principal Douglass Panch, was challenged to move past the script and explore improvisation. In the performance, he read words to the spellers and had to communicate on-stage with sophomore Molly Palmer to decide which words the audience volunteers would receive.
Additionally, he delivered new jokes each performance. “It took us probably a month to even come up with a couple of punchlines that we could use,” he said. “Some of them were about the election or about current events. But after the first show, Mr. Reynolds pulled me aside three hours before we started, and said, ‘We have to think of new jokes.’ And I honestly think the ones we created in 30 minutes were better than the ones we made in a month.”
Mr. Reynolds was cognizant of the fact that the show would premier a few days after the 2024 presidential election. With this in mind, he chose a show that would lighten the mood during this polarizing time. “During the week of the election, I didn’t know which way it was going to go,” he said. “I just thought either way, we would need a laugh. The fact that we were making jokes about Republicans and Democrats the week of the election and people were hysterically laughing brought the tension down. It was very, very fun.”
Senior Zaire Ramiz, an experienced triple-threat performer, was thrilled to have this extra opportunity to take on a role with singing, dancing, and acting. “Musical theater is my niche, so it was really fun to get to do a musical when we usually do a play,” he reflected. “I thought it was interesting the way that [the stage crew] made a Blackbox experience in the theater. It was really fun to get to interact with the audience.”
Another unique aspect of the show was an appearance from KO’s very own Administrative Coordinator Lindsay Perkins and history Department Chair and performing arts teacher David Baker. Singing a duet, the pair performed on stage in one scene as the parents of Olive Ostrovsky, played by sophomore Sarah Balog. “I’m just so grateful to get to work at a place where I get to continue living out my passions,” Ms. Perkins said. “It was incredible. And just seeing how much the students are doing behind the scenes, on stage, I see them in a whole new light.”
Mr. Reynolds hopes that audience members walked away with a deeper appreciation for musical theater, and of course, a lot of laughs. “Every night was completely different, [Ms. Perkins and Mr. Baker] got to see us think on our feet in real time,” he said. “Mr. Dillow said to me, ‘I can’t remember the last time I’ve laughed that hard.’”
Currently, the KO Theater Department is gearing up for a production of the 2025 winter musical, “Hello Dolly!” which will premiere in Roberts Theater in February.
