William Peace University B.F.A program performed its second and final musical for 2015, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The show ran from March 26th-29th in Kenan hall and was directed by Michael Bush and featured WPU students who were all absolutely hilarious.
The script was written by Rebecca Feldman with music and lyrics by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin. The play is centered on a spelling bee that takes place at Putnam Valley Middle School. Six quirky kids compete in the Bee which is run by two equally quirky adults. Bush did an excellent job casting each of the Peace students.
The story line behind the show was very interesting. Each character had their own back story that many of us went through ourselves. The journey through to the very end was full of nothing but pure enjoyment. There was never a dull moment.
A particularly interesting aspect of the show was the audience participation in which four real audience members were invited on stage to compete in the spelling bee alongside the six young characters.
The show featured many songs and dancing numbers however it was the comedy and character development that won me over. The comedic timing of Dustin Walker was absolutely hysterical. I thoroughly enjoyed watched him embody this older more mature character. Walker alongside Alexandra Finazzo was the perfect pair. Finazzo has a powerful stage presence and took charge of the Bee. All of the actors did a phenomenal job getting to know the story and transforming into these adolescent students. Michael Bush did an awesome job casting each of the wonderful peace students and bringing this great show together. I look forward to seeing more of the B.F.A program as it continues to grow and perform amazing shows each year.