Hive’s Cast of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”
Presented by Hive Theatre Company
Book by Rachel Sheinkin
Conceived by Rebecca Feldman
Music and lyrics by William Finn
Directed & Choreographed by Margaret McFadden
Musical Director John Eldridge
January 22, 2026 – February 1, 2026
Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02116
Critique by Kitty Drexel
“Caterjunes,” from UrbanDictionary.com
An old Nantucket whaling term with only one known citation.
“The neap tide draws. The Leviathan nears. Caterjunes.”
Definition by the_roflsauces from January 1, 2009.
BOSTON — Wednesday night’s subway and road traffic was awful. We braved massively crowded red, orange and green line cars to stumble our way to the Boston Center for the Arts. Hive Theatre Company presented The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. We’re happy to say the production was worth all of the effort to get to the BCA.
(A note to BCA employees: The weird smell that lived in the largest bathroom is in the lobby now. It’s heinous. Is it coming from the ceiling, the floors, the walls? Investigate it. Y’all need to do something before patrons stop buying tickets. It’s unfair to everyone to charge money and subject us to whatever is going on in there. Additionally, the paper towel dispensers aren’t loaded, and some of the soap dispensers don’t function. Caring about community includes caring about its spaces. Your hardworking janitorial staff can only do so much when the entire space requires renovation. )
This is Hive’s second production and follow-up to last Fall’s The Wolves. The company says it engages the work of teens and young adults in its production. Its artists might be young, but they display a maturity beyond their years. From the minor details in its design to the character work of its actors, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a solid production worth the weary steps across the ice and snow.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee had a Broadway production directed by James Lapine in 2005. Its revival, directed by Danny Mefford, is currently running in New York at the New World Stages. A production famous for its 4th wall breaking, volunteer embarrassing hijinks and special guests off-Broadway included Daniel Radcliffe and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Hive’s production did not feature anyone terrifically famous on Wednesday. There is still time.
Rachel Sheinkin and William Finnis’ musical turns the show’s audience into the audience for an elementary school spelling bee (as indicated by the title). Stakes are high for six prepubescent kids (Cameron Nye, Anna Wright, Alex Kennedy, Kaden Mays, Ashley Ha, Maya Gopalswamy) battling for the title of spelling bee champion and the chance to go to the finals in Washington. They spell real and pretend words while offloading intimate details about their personal lives. We experience secondhand embarrassment and, hopefully, mass empathy for these socially awkward, over-stressed kids who lack the experience to know that other opportunities for success will eventually arise if they keep going.
Amanda Wade tackles the role of zealous adult judge and previous spelling champ, Rona Lisa Peretti. She is matched by Josh Telepman as the second judge and super creep, Vice Principal Panché. Salavatore Guillermo Garcia plays comfort counselor with a heart of gold and hand of juiceboxes, Mitch Mahoney.
For folks familiar with the musical, characters such as Leaf Coneybear, Marcy Park, and William Barfeé are infamous for their quirky personalities. Hive’s production is notable because it’s clear that the entire cast dug deep to make their characters as eccentric as possible. From a tween political pundit-in-training to an ex-con, our actors made it delightfully weird.
Margaret McFadden’s staging and choreography take great advantage of the set design by Kevin Deane Parker. Actors are flinging candy into the audience, running across the stage, and even forming a brief kickline. McFadden’s most inspired staging appears in “Magic Foot” and “I Speak Six Languages” thanks to castmembers Mays and Ha. Mays commits to the bit and gives us unusual athleticism for an antisocial speller. Ha is a quadruple threat: high kicks, the splits, and a short moment on the Music Director John Eldridge’s piano all while singing in multiple languages. McFadden’s Act 2 Love Ballet receives special mention for adding unexpected sweetness to a vulnerable moment between Barfeé and Ostrovsky (Gopalswamy).
Additionally, scenic designer Parker and costume designer Samantha Wolfrum provide subtle depths to the production. Parker put matching functional waterbottles with matching Spelling Bee labels by each contestant’s chair, even the volunteer contestants, which matches the judge’s banner which matched the ceiling banner. An anti-bullying poster looked real. Wolfrum paid special attention to the details of her costuming: Peretti donned a glammy bee brooch. Coneybear, who dressed himself, wore a frog fannypack and a frog finger puppet.
With all the subtle and unsubtle work going into The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, we would be remiss if we didn’t offer some words of caution. A production such as this one invites the cast and its audience into a niche community within a niche community. Hive Theatre had many friends and family in its audience on Wednesday evening. Its actors invited many laughs. There were also laughs from inside jokes and friendships with audience members.
Generally speaking, inside jokes should be avoided. They alienate an audience who may or may not know what is going on. The joke isn’t funny if everyone isn’t involved. Invite friends and parents to a dress rehearsal to get your giggles out. Paying patrons may not give you a second chance.
In a poignant moment during The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the character Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere, played by Anna Wright, goes on a heated tirade about the pointless renaming of the Gulf of Mexico and the Kennedy Center to appease a certain orange-skinned, vulva-throated pedophile protecting president with an ego so fragile that Fox News covers his terrible golf scores instead of national protests. We must consider what kind of world we are leaving our children’s children. Even we thousandaire, childless catladies need to be concerned about the next generations of American citizens, inside and outside of Greenland. Our kids are concerned for us all. That alone deserves our respect and support.
Fuck Ice.
