Oak Island Theatre to premier 'Spelling Bee' tonight

Sep. 30—Owensboro Community and Technical College's Oak Island Theatre will debut its production of the musical "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" starting at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, with additional showings at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2.

All performances will be inside Blandford Hall in the Humanities Building on the OCTC campus.

The musical comedy, which debuted on Broadway in 2005 and won two Tony Awards out of six nominations, explores "an eclectic group of six mid-pubscents" that are competing for a spelling bee at the Putnam Valley Middle School with the help of a former champion, a comfort counselor and "disgruntled" educators.

"(The kids) are figuring out about themselves, figuring out that independence away from the parents and finding a safe space and friendship through spelling bees," said Grae Greer, director of Oak Island Theatre and the show. "...It's heartwarming and funny, and then it gets sad real quick."

Greer initially had plans to hold a production of the musical "Cabaret" but decided to pivot towards this show in order to bring something different to Owensboro.

"I knew I wanted to do a musical this season, and I decided to kind of step back and change my original plan ...," she said, "and then I was like, 'I'm an actor first' — so I look at the acting options that we have for our community members and this is really a musical based on character and acting, and I know this is something that we don't typically see with our musicals in the community.

"I wanted to give our actors that opportunity to not only sing and dance, but also act as much as they could."

One of the unique elements of the show is having four audience members invited on stage to compete in the spelling bee alongside the actors portraying the children.

Audience members who want to take part will be able to find "Spelling Bee Parents" who will have clipboards to sign people up.

Having folks that are foreign to the characters can be a challenge for both the audience participants and the actors, but Greer said they have been "very fortunate" with volunteers in the community and within the college that have been attending rehearsals in order to try it out with different spellers.

Greer said there are different prompts and activities set up to help keep the show on track and that the guest spellers will be paired with the actor spellers in order to make the guests feel more comfortable on stage.

"We've prepped it," she said. "We're spending that hour before rehearsals start before the (guest) spellers get there figuring out the words we're going to use, how we're going to roast them on stage. That's been a big part of our rehearsal process is how do we improve with these other actors (and) how do we adjust for the comfort level of our patrons."

With the unusual addition to the show, Greer said each performance will stand out.

"Literally, it doesn't matter if you've seen the show once or three times — you're going to see a different show," she said.

She also mentions the show will be more focused on the action on stage as opposed to extravagant fixtures.

"I think when people think of musicals, they're thinking of elaborate sets and sparkly costumes and crazy lighting and dance numbers; but that's not what you're going to get from this," she said. "You're going to get a simple set with simple costumes, with clear characters on stage who know their purpose — you believe them every second that they are on stage."

Admission to the show is "pay what you can," with all proceeds going back to Oak Island Theatre to help support future productions.

"We want the arts to be accessible, and we understand not everybody can pay $5, $10, $20 to come see a show," Greer said. "We are allowing it to be pay what you have available. ...It allows our students and our community to see quality theatre at a low price, or for free."

The show includes adult language, themes and situations that are not suitable for individuals under 18. Parental supervision is advised.

For more information, visit facebook.com/OakIslandTheatre.