If you were in the Cherry Hill school district some-odd years ago, you would certainly remember the controversial hype around the East Theater Department’s 2017 performance of Ragtime, and the way it made waves throughout local media and had everyone talking about it. Then in 2020, when Legally Blonde was cut short in its run due to the sudden “two week”-plus break caused by COVID-19 cases hitting the Camden County Area, hundreds of East students were left upset that they couldn’t see the show for themselves. Last year, East’s recorded performance of the well-recognized Little Shop of Horrors was also cut short of premiering at each planned time due to inclement weather.

Finally, in a year of play production that could be near-normal for the first time in two years, the big Spring musical that had been selected to perform was The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a play that had gone mostly unrecognized since it’s release in 2005, even by East thespians themselves

who “didn’t know what to expect,” says Brooke Warren (‘23) when it’s announcement was finalized. In addition, the musical uses only one set and no scene transitions, all of which could seemingly lead audiences to believe going into the show that they would not be wowed like they would have been in previous years.

However–the musical did everything but leave audience members looking L-U-G-U-B-R-I-O-U-S.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a show packed with hilarious dirty jokes, heart-felt moments, LGBT+ representation, recurring supernatural possessions, a visit from Jesus, audience interaction, and a tribute to a magic foot.

But, it’s not solely the content of the play that made it so surprisingly promising; it was the phenomenally hilarious and yet professional execution by all members of the Red and White cast, the pit ensemble, the effects crew, and all other crew members and various directors involved that really brought the script to life. One of the most impressive moments of the show was when slow motion was convincingly played out on stage without a single untimely blink or step by any actor of the main or ensemble cast.

What makes the annual musical each year so impossible to miss out on, no matter what the contents of the show may be predicted to entail, is the reputation of the drama department and knowing how fully committed all of the actors and actresses are– not only to the play or musical, but to each other. Anthony Torrissi (‘23), who played Spelling Bee champion and magic foot-haver William Barfée (pronounced Bar-fay, as a hilarious recurring joke throughout the play would have you remembering) says of the wrapping of Putnam County Spelling Bee, “It’s bittersweet (since) it was the last time any of us underclassmen would be performing with our seniors in a main stage production. The department is such a close-knit group, that there’s a pang of sadness seeing them go.”

Seniors of both main casts include Grace Pierlott (‘22), Charlie Bove (‘22), Marco Veniziano (‘22), Tre Spier (‘22), Hailee Connors (‘22), Jevyn San Pedro (‘22), Alex Barkhamer (‘22), and Mia Ripa (‘22), all of whom deserve special recognition for their commitment to East Theater for so long. The show was magnificently “an opportunity to see the future of the department, as (the) underclassmen got to show off their many talents,” Torrissi added. In all, East’s production of The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee was a uniquely remarkable, quirky, and unforgettable show. To quote the repetitive jingle sung beautifully by the whole ensemble throughout the musical, “Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye!”