The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee: Blog 55

Good morning!
I hope you all had a good weekend. 

Posting as usual now resumes after my little blog holiday!

I had the pleasure of being invited to see a show at the Broadway Theatre Catford on Saturday. I have never been to Catford before. I caught the train from Charing Cross to Catford Bridge and followed signs to the theatre. I walked through the curved street full of little shops leading past the Town Hall and to the theatre. According to Wikipedia the town boasts some notable residents past and present including Doris Stokes, Spike Milligan and Mica Paris to name just a few.  

This Broadway couldn't be more different from its familiar namesake in Barking which is a fabulous hard edged open glass design.This Broadway is a stunning Grade 11 listed  Art Deco building (1932). Most of the original internal features are preserved including beautiful glass windows and doors. The entrance and stairs to the small studio theatre have wonderful wall lights and perfectly evoke a feeling of the thirties.

This is an example as I couldn't find any Broadway interiors

On entering the small studio theatre I was greeted by an actor who appeared to be taking audience members names in order to drum up contestants for the Spelling Bee (for those of you who might not know - this is a popular Spelling competition for children in the US). I like to think of myself as a reasonably good speller and a bit of a scrabble fan, so I happily said yes having no clue what I was actually letting myself in for! 

This piece is by William Finn whose Elegies I was recently introduced to by Tim and Phil. I understand that this is the first time the show has been staged in this country. 

Anyone who knows me well will know that I am no aficionado of the musical, but since working on Cinderella I have come to understand and appreciate the form much more. Olly has written a number of children's theatre pieces with original songs that have a feel of mini musicals, and I loved directing them. I have also really enjoyed many of the musicals I have seen but had not fully appreciated that I had been unconsciously influenced by an inherent snobbery about them in certain theatre circles. Making Cinderella challenged this and took me right into the form which is exhilarating and to which I am deeply drawn in new ways.

To get a feel 

So thinking I might be asked to do a bit of audience participation (which I have to shame facedly admit I hate!) I took my seat. That didn't last for long as within minutes I was asked to come and take my place as a contestant, which I did dutifully only to find myself "in" the show for much longer than expected. I didn't use my real name, so at least the embarrassment was limited! 

We were told emphatically not to act or try and join in the songs! (no fear of the latter believe me!). I sat with two of the female characters who chatted to me as the competitors were called to spell on a small dais with microphone. It was hilarious to be inside the show and not have a clue what they were going to do next, but to be assured that I would get my instructions as and when I needed them. After a few minutes I relaxed and really enjoyed myself!

This is amongst the most anarchic theatre pieces I have seen. Its as if William Finn has just got out of bed one morning and downloaded his internal stream of consciousness monologue and turned it into a musical that day with no edits (I imagine there is a bit more to it than that! ) Its originality is breathtaking with characters that touch and delight and make you roar with laughter. It was a great success on Broadway and won two Tonys.

I was particularly moved by The I love you song sang by a mother and father to their talented spelling daughter - you can hear the original Broadway cast here - 

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the%20i%20love%20you%20song. 

Quite poignant on the eve of Mother's day. 

The quality of this production was fabulous with some very strong performances, most of the actors are also instrumentalists. Their vibrancy and energy was excellent. The intimacy of the 80-seat studio lends itself well to the show, and even with only 30 people in the audience it packed a punch. 

I ended up being in the show for about 20 minutes, with my first challenging spelling being 'cat'. I did eventually get buzzed out from misspelling 'How" (how?) - given a big hug and a carton of apple juice, and was allowed to return to my seat. I would have been quite happy to stay in the show actually much to my surprise - I don't get to tread the boards these days and got something of a remembered pleasure from it! 

This show is as good as anything in the West End in terms of performance quality - and its a little gem hidden in the basement of a 1930's building in the middle of Catford. One to definitely get tickets for before it closes on March 24th. 

http://broadwaytheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows/873488538/events

Yesterday I spent the evening over dinner with my beautiful daughters Grace and Phoebe for Mother's Day and that was a lovely finish to the weekend. My favourite tulips look beautiful and I look forward to reading Caitlin Moran's book: How to be a Woman. (Might be a bit late?)

Have a great day.