Break out your dictionaries and your buried memories of elementary school spelling bee competitions, because The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is coming to our neck of the woods.

Tomorrow, as part of the Broadway national tour, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee premieres at the National Theatre in Washington. The musical, which follows six finalists at the Putnam County Spelling Bee, combines song, dance and spelling in a humorous production that focuses on what happens when people get too caught up in competition.

As a result, hilarity ensues in both the writing and the unique nuances of Spelling Bee’s characters. In the style of awkward moments à la The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Superbad and even the infamous Saturday Night Live Spelling Bee skit, the musical uses a number of fresh approaches to humor that a younger generation can enjoy.

Katie Boren, one of the stars of Spelling Bee, talked with The Diamondback about the play, interacting with audience members and the sense of nostalgia inherent to spelling bees.

“I think some of [the humor] is more modern,” said Boren, who plays Marcy Park, one of the six precocious spellers. “There are all different kinds of humor in the show. I think younger people kind of understand some of the humor that’s been introduced to us, [thanks to] all the humor from recent movies that [have] come out.”

Spelling Bee is based off of C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, a play written by Rebecca Feldman. The Farm, a New York improvisational comedy troupe, co-created and originally performed the production.

In a unique twist, improvisation is still a key part of Spelling Bee – according to Boren, four volunteers are chosen from the audience to perform onstage with the cast in the competition. As a result, each show varies depending on the reactions of the volunteering audience members – and whether they’re good enough to stay onstage.

Although the entire production is only one act, the actual length of the musical varies with each show. Boren noted instances where audience members who happened to be very good spellers were onstage for longer periods of time than expected, forcing the cast to work overtime to get them out.

“It keeps the show so fresh and gives it that improv energy,” Boren said. “It keeps everyone on edge. It’s so much fun.”

Boren’s favorite moment of the show occurs after her character’s song, “I Speak Six Languages.” According to Boren, Marcy undergoes a “developmental process” and learns that winning isn’t everything.

“I think the main thing that [people learn after the show] is, success is determined by how you see it, and winning isn’t the most important thing, especially in this case,” Boren explained.

Boren also said she enjoys the moment when the last audience member left in the competition is still on-stage competing against cast members, because of the tension built up to that point.

Because the show is a traveling one, the set is rebuilt each time the production moves to a new theater. As a result of moving around, the cast is familiar with constant change.

“The actual houses themselves, the actual size, is the hardest part,” Boren said. “Also, the way the audiences will respond to the show because it changes from area to area … Sometimes the reactions are different.”

The stage is intimately set in order to provide a close audience/stage experience. The most important thing, according to Boren, is to make all the audience members, not just the select four on the stage, feel like they are really a part of the competition.

The production, whose 2005 Broadway counterpart has already won two Tony Awards, is expected to appeal to both old and new patrons of theater. And because each of us holds a very unique version of spelling bee memories, Boren hopes that each audience member can walk away with his or her own experience of the show.

“The writing is genius,” Boren said. “A lot of people who come to the show are not expecting what they come away with. … By the second act of the show, you’re so emotionally involved with the characters, and you walk away thinking about what you may have been like at that age.”

dnhan@umd.edu