The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
River City Community Players
The River City Community Players have staged a brilliant version of "Putnam County." I've seen a lot of community theater along the way, and it's rare when a cast is so uniformly strong. Every character had at least one moment to shine, and each delivered on the opportunity. This play is superbly written. It captures the pressures of trying to be perfect as well as the challenges of trying to fit in. And it also skillfully portrays a universal moment of embarrassment for all pubescent boys--I'll leave it at that. Who to single out? Branson Bliss is hilarious as Vice Principal Paunch as is Guy Gardner as ultra-nerd Barfee. JoAnna Bledsoe looks like a nightmarish Pippi Longstocking and is as funny as Schwartz. Sean Conners is a riot as Mitch, the comfort-counselor parolee who offers no real comfort. Everyone in the cast sang and danced at least passably if not superbly. This is an audience participation show and those who volunteered were great sports who played their roles with humor and comic timing.
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