The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Pittsburgh City Paper: At a recent performance of Apple Hill Playhouse's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, one remarkable aspect was the audience reaction. A little background: Putnam is a musical conceived by Rebecca Feldman, with a book by Rachel Sheinkin (additional material from Jay Reiss), and William Finn providing words and music. It's the story of a small-town spelling bee, in which a handful of children (played by adult actors) compete for first prize. What makes Putnam such a popular show is that underneath its cutesy, somewhat twee, surface is a subtext of lost, excluded children doing the one thing they can think of to make their parents love them.