REVIEW BY GRACE DWYER
EDITED BY CHARLOTTE FRASER
Before the show even starts, I’m convinced that The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is the perfect choice for International House and St Mary’s College inaugural joint production. The 2005 Tony Award winning musical by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin fits perfectly in the Guild’s more intimate space. Looking at the unoccupied stage is almost like looking in a mirror: two rows of school chairs set up directly facing the audience, a hanging sign welcoming us to the Bee, an adjudication table and a few solitary microphones. The set team Margereta Maria, Tiany Kamali, and Queena Qi, have me on the edge of my seat already.
I should preface this review by acknowledging I love Spelling Bee and know both the score and script pretty well. Speaking to my fellow theatre-goers, however, I seem to be in the minority. I ask someone sitting next to me if they signed up for the Bee, to which they reply: “You can sign up?! For what?!”
We start with moderator Rona Lisa Peretti (Daisy Choi) welcoming our six middle-school contestants to the fictional Putnam County Bee. Choi has a lovely voice and tone, perfect for Rona, and guides us through the Bee with a gentle, but no-nonsense, attitude. Four enthusiastic, but confused, audience volunteers take their seats next to the kids and we begin the spelling. Over the course of Act One’s competition there’s a steady increase in energy, peaking around “Magic Foot,” where I laugh so hard I have tears in my eyes. Ruby Ware and Sienna Iacono’s choreography really shines here – there’s a good blend of flexibility so each character can make it their own, while still looking cohesive.
For a relatively small college production, I must commend Director Lucy Sonneman, Assistant Director Lauren Dunsterville and Musical Director Shaun Lee on their casting. Every single actor fits their role so perfectly – their physicality, their vocal style, the way they interact with their neighbouring audience volunteers. Hair and Make-Up Coordinator Anushka Joshi and Costume Designers Grace Tynan and Amira Fadzil deserve their flowers for aesthetically elevating these talented performers: everything from William’s glasses to Olive’s oversized jumper and Logainne’s hair clips is spot-on.
Spelling Bee thrives off its ‘liveness,’ which, while exciting, does have the potential to backfire if the cast is unadaptable, the director tentative or the tech crew inexperienced. IH and Mary’s talented company do not stumble at all – if anything, my expectations shoot through the roof. Stage Manager Anika Gay; ASMs Ava Poynter and Perrie Winsall; and Sound Designer Oliver Sexton keep the tech running smoothly. Lighting is switched on as well, and Raissa Pasaribu and Amelia Lau’s design weaves between extravagant set-ups for more heightened moments, and a low-key, almost half house-light model that includes us in the Bee. Sound design is also well thought out: individual microphones for the kids, one for Rona on her adjudication table, and one in the centre for the audience volunteers. The only character without a microphone, pronouncer and Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Jamie Noble) is gifted with not only fantastic projection, but fantastic stage presence. Panch is nominally the lowest billed character, but Noble makes a long-lasting impression during his time in the spotlight. After an elimination slip-up, in which the guest speller is sent back for spelling the right word, Noble recovers fantastically by proclaiming “Question NOT my authority!”.
As for the rest of the cast, they must also be astute improvisers – and several of them play multiple characters at the drop of a hat. Albie Berberich has a particularly wonderful physicality as the surly Mitch Mahoney, and bodies the dance number “Pandemonium”. Iris Wang, playing the prodigious Marcy Park, deftly balances Marcy’s cool exterior and softer side, especially during “I Speak Six Languages”. Connor Williams is so perfect as Barfée it’s hard to believe they just found this guy at college. As our first eliminated kid, Chip Tolentino (Matt Ho) opens Act Two by making small talk with the audience. Ho’s easy charisma, (and the fact that he’s handing around free snacks) puts the audience right into the palm of his hand – capped off with a stellar rendition of a should-be classic, “My Unfortunate Erection.”
Laughs aside, it’s evident that Sonneman understands that for Spelling Bee to hit we need to be able to sympathise with the kids much more than we need to be entertained by them. These children are weird, sure, but as we become more invested in the Bee we understand how high the stakes feel. Both Leaf Coneybear (Reuben Hackwill) and Logainne Schwartzen-Grubeniere (Bailey Green) are instrumental to this mood shifting – aided by Hackwill’s incredibly endearing shyness and stage presence, and Green’s over-the-top earnestness.
I have buried the lead a little bit. The emotional climax of the entire show – mostly rests on the shoulders of Olive Ostrovsky (Andrea Goh). “The I Love You Song” is six minutes of pure sincerity in a show that has so far been pretty light-hearted, and though a couple of giggles can be heard from the audience as another dream sequence begins, it’s gone by the time Olive starts to sing. Goh is noticeably smaller and less exaggeratedly physical than the other spellers – shining as the sweetly spoken Olive, reducing at least a few audience members to tears (I am one of the audience members).
Vocally, the cast range from solid to showstopping. Both Sonneman – who doubled as Vocal Coach – and Lee should be incredibly proud of their cast’s harmonies, which, being a Wiliam Finn show, are not straightforward. Blending is especially effective, even in shorter songs like the “Goodbye” segments. Green (also Vocal Captain) and Goh are solo standouts, with the former nailing “Woe Is Me”, and the latter giving her all to not only “The I Love You Song,” but “Second.” As the cast are using tracks and as such cannot rely on an MD to vamp, I’m particularly impressed by their entrances, which are almost flawless.
I genuinely could go on for several more paragraphs, but I can sum up my thoughts succinctly: IH and Mary’s Spelling Bee has the best parts of every good college show. So much love and care has been placed into this entire production, down to the two colourful ribbons tied around the microphones. I sincerely believe this collegiate partnership has yielded a fantastic show, and hope this inaugural production is the start of many, many more.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was presented by International House and St Mary’s College at the Guild Theatre 18 – 20 September 2026.
GRACE DWYER is currently completing her Honours in English and Theatre Studies. She fell in love with student theatre during her first year at college, playing a frog prince – and loves watching and talking about productions almost as much as she loved hopping around the stage.
CHARLOTTE FRASER (she/her) is a writer, performer and editor based in Melbourne. She holds a BA in English and Theatre Studies and is currently completing her Masters degree at the University of Melbourne. Charlotte is also the 2026 Dialog Editor.
The Dialog is supported by Union House Theatre
