Surprise #1: This musical performance set at an American spelling bee is surprisingly low-energy: no spectacular dance numbers, muted presentations even of songs entitled Pandemonium, problems of low volume at the beginning, and a few badly sustained high notes. Surprise #2: The inclusion of "guest spellers" from the audience in the first act really revs up the chuckles: besides the enjoyment we get from watching these adults get treated like children and tested on improbable words, they actually get forced into the choreographic sequences, with pretty welcome effects. Surprise #3: Whoa!!! I thought this was a musical targeted at children! But in this evening performance (I dare say things are toned down for the matinee) there are songs about unwanted erections, the dilemmas of having two gay dads, references to Nietzsche, purple sequined panties and a few sprinklings of dirty words. I thoroughly approve, but I had to explain a few jokes later to my 10 year-old niece.
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30 seconds