The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, directed by Cambria Beilstein, features a group of ecstatic spellers eager to win for all their own reasons.

Brash and highly allergic William Barfee played by Charles Lindberg (11),  pushes through with the help of this “magic” foot to success; sweet and timid Olive Ostrovsky played by Kaylee Bashor (12), sings about her only friend (the Dictionary); Last years champion, Chip Tolentino played by Zain Faruqi (9), struggles with his “Distraction”; easily sidetracked Leaf Coneybear played by Benjamin Verde (9), is skeptical if he’s intelligent enough to be a challenger; lisping Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Schwartzy) played by Hailey dePoto (11), only wants to impress her gay dads; perfectionist Marcy Park played by Calla Chung (10), is disappointed in her constant success.

With the comical; catchy songs, characters express not only their passion for spelling, but their high hopes and struggles.

One by one, each student is called up to the microphone and given a word. They are also given a sentence and/or definition if asked, by either Douglas Panche played by Calvin Torkelson (10), or Rona Lisa Peretti, played by Jasmine Powell (12).

Its goes around like this with losers and witty remarks in between. When eliminated Mitch Majoney, played by Sid Piravi (10) hands kids juice boxes and comforts them with song. eventually there are only two kids remaining, Barfee and Ostrovsky compete until one makes a mistake.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was filled with non-stop laughs (in a good way). There was a nice mixture of life lessons and heart warming moments that made you want to laugh and cry at the same time. I found it expertly well done; the actors and actresses were both phenomenal and real. The cast also pulled up four audience volunteers to be a part of the show, making the production all the more fun to watch.

Both “I’m Not That Smart” performed by Verde and “My Friend, The Dictionary” performed by Bashor were heart moving and relatable for most teens.

I was more than impressed and could watch it over and over again without getting bored.

For the first time in San Juan Hills history, the play sold out every single show. The department added an encore performance to next Monday to keep up with the high demand of people who wanted to watch the show.