A buzz over spelling bee
THE acclaimed musical comedy set around a school spelling bee competition, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, is being staged by the JYM theatre company later this month at the Phoenix Theatre in Elwood.
It is the ninth year that the Jewish company has drawn on the talent in the community to stage its musicals, and according to production manager Shlom Eshel the standard is very high.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is based on the book by Rachel Sheinkin and is set around contestants who battle to win a shot at the national spelling championship.
The first time that The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was staged outside of Broadway was in 2006 by the Melbourne Theatre Company.
JYM’s production is directed by Jem Splitter, and the cast includes Josh Gurgiel, Daniel Aronov, Rebecca Lemish, Yakira Abraham, Emma Newman and Mikey Gurgiel.
“We wanted to put on a show that is fun, entertaining and something that kids can come and see,” said Eshel.
“JYM is competing with other theatre companies and it is important for the standard to be very high.”
Eshel is a co-founder of JYM and despite the demands of a young family, with children Nadav, seven, and Gilly, one, she has no plans to take a break from the company.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm in the community, with about 60 people auditioning for the nine roles,” she said.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is being staged at the Phoenix Theatre, 101 Glenhuntly Road, Elwood from August 20-27. Bookings: www.jymtheatre.com
REPORT by Danny Gocs
PHOTO of Rebecca Lemish and Mikey Gurgiel
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