The Department of Theatre will perform this year’s Spring Musical, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” at the Fulks Theatre Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Joey Banks, assistant professor in the Department of Theatre, said the comedic musical takes place at a local school’s spelling bee with a vast range of unique characters. The musical is improvisational with no set plot, allowing members of the audience to actively participate, and ensuring each show is paced differently, said Banks. 

Banks said he saw the musical on Broadway and is excited to see it come to life through the students. He said it is a show that can be enjoyed by anyone, even those who don’t enjoy musical theatre. 

“This show is a very entertaining thing to watch because it feels like [the audience is] involved too,” Banks said. “It’s a really easy experience where people can go laugh and listen to some great singing, and hear some great comedy.”

The students participating in the musical auditioned in November, with the cast being made up of Bachelor of Fine Arts musical theatre students. The BFA students make up the largest cohort of theatre majors, which is mostly juniors and seniors. Underclassmen take part in the show as understudies. The cast list came out in the fall and has been rehearsing since March. 

The theatre faculty get together to decide what the show will be about, basing it on the productions they’ve put on over the year. The department performed Shrek as the Homecoming musical, followed by the dramatic play, “Proof.”

Banks said spring musicals tend to be more minimalist in terms of set and costume changes, making Spelling Bee an enticing choice since they require a smaller cast.

“Spelling Bee” had been on the radar for a while, as it holds a special place for Banks; he said it was one of his first gigs as a Union actor.

“We’re always trying to think of creating a balanced season,” Banks said. “We wanted to end the season on something light, so that’s what led us to pick ‘Spelling Bee.’”

Now, Banks gets to collaborate with faculty and student designers to put on the production. He reviews each department’s progress at their weekly production meetings and ensures the show has a vision that integrates all design elements to create a cohesive world. 

“This is a talented group of students in this department,” Banks said, “and this is a show that is such a perfect first show for people.”

Megan Sloane, senior musical theatre major from Belton, will portray a character who finds friendships through the spelling bee, similar to Sloane’s experience in this production.

“I like how tight-knit ‘Spelling Bee’ is,” Sloane said. “It’s a cast of nine people, and so all of us getting to know each other and pretending to be kids while in rehearsal is just really fun.”

Sloane explained that, unlike a bigger production like Shrek, the rehearsals for this show required a lot of improvisation. The students auditioning didn’t have a script in front of them; instead, they had to embody their character and their unique personality fully. 

“The auditioning process was so much fun,” Sloane said. “We did a round of singing and acting, and then we did a round of improvisation where we actually had a spelling bee.”

This time around, the cast is facing an unusual challenge– each show will have a distinct outcome, due to the cast being tested on their spelling abilities while onstage.

“I actually have to remember how to spell words,” Sloane said. “If I spell a word wrong, that throws the whole show off.”

Matthew Lietz, junior musical theatre major, from New Braunfels, TX, participated in “Shrek” and “Violet” this past year, and said that a production like “Spelling Bee” is different in many aspects, but especially in its cast size. 

“With ‘Spelling Bee,’ it’s a really tight-knit group of us that are all working as hard as we can together, to keep the show up and running,” Leitz said. “With ‘Shrek’, there were moments where we were off stage, and we could rest. There is no moment in ‘Spelling Bee’ where I’m off stage.”

Despite that challenge, Lietz has enjoyed portraying a character different from his previous roles and getting to embody a personality that is different from his own. 

“Being able to dig into the character that I’m playing– a twelve-year-old kid, who spells words with his foot– is different, it’s very different,” Leitz said. “It’s been really fun digging and exploring the interactions with other people.”

Tickets can be purchased here.