#magic foot

[intrograted]

magic foot or something

[kevinmchalenews]

Kevin McHale as William Barfée performing "Magic Foot" in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

[mister-mizu]

Magic foot

[ray0fd4rkness]

so my school is doing 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as our musical this year and I’m part of the set crew, so I just chill backstage until my cue to take me one (1) bench off the stage and that’s it but that’s not the point of this post

the point of this post is that some of these songs are w a c k to have stuck in your head at school

like

one moment I’m doing classwork and the next I’m vibing to pandemonium in my head and resisting the urge to incite chaos

or

ill just be vibing and then BOOM magic foot starts playing in my head and I have to physically stop myself from doing jazz hands and kicking my feet

[someone-online]

Spelling Bee doodles

[theendofthefilm]

Magic Foot

London Specialty Co. UK, ca. 1960

[maxmallart]

Inktober, Day 10: Magic Foot Honestly, I'm not altogether happy with this one. Hoping tomorrow's will be better thought out

[thesweatycollectiontyrant]

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

One of my favorite musicals I’ve done. Time to find out what Hasenpfeffer is with The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Background Info

A little musical that has become one of the most-produced shows for high schools, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a lovable and hilarious musical. It opened on Broadway in 2005 after plenty of workshops and out-of-town productions. The show is important to me because I love William Finn and all his work, but this is such an unorthodox plot for him to write for. It’s so funny at the same time. I will stand by my idea that this might have my favorite book when it comes to musical comedies.

Writers

William Finn wrote music and lyrics. Finn also wrote Falsettos, which was recently revived in 2016. Also, he’s famous for A New Brain and Little Miss Sunshine (more like infamous for that last one). Rachel Sheinkin wrote the book and implemented improvisation for a few characters, and also has a majority of the nine characters to double as specific members of the six kids’ families at different times.

Who’s Singing?

The only recording available for Spelling Bee is the Original Broadway Cast Recording, which is perfection. It follows the score very nicely and every single cast member is a stand-out. The show features Lisa Howard as Rona Lisa Peretti, Jay Reiss as Douglas Panch, Derrick Baskin as Mitch Mahoney, Jose Llana as Chip Tolentino, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Leaf Coneybear, Deborah S. Craig as Marcy Park, Sarah Saltzberg as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Olive Ostrovsky, and Dan Fogler as William Barfee. 

Let’s Do This

I can’t help but tear up during this opening number. Simply called, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”, the kids enter and meet miss Peretti and get their numbers. I got to play Barf my junior year of high school, and that was my favorite theatrical experience to date. I’ll be sure to include some fun rehearsal stories along the way while listening. I want to preface everything with how much I love Lisa Howards voice. William Finn begins the show with his signature “half note triads in the right hand and sustained notes in the bass”. All the characters are introduced, one by one, and Rona introduces them to the audience. A few of the kids interact with each other. The way the harmonies are assigned in this show is very tricky and interesting. For example, at the end of the song, there’s a big Db chord sung by the company. It looks like this:

Note that at this point in the number, the six kids and Rona are singing, as the other two adults, Mitch and Panch are introduced momentarily. The way this is voiced in the score shows Barfee and Logainne are both singing a unison Ab4, Leaf and Marcy are singing a Db in octaves, Chip and Olive are singing an F in octaves, and Rona is singing an Ab5. Typically, when the splits happen, this is the typical voicing. Mitch also sings with Leaf and Marcy, and occasionally, Chip and Olive. Just to point out. Barf is LITERALLY singing Alto. What is wrong with people? I mean if you can do it you can do it but I know that was a big strain on my part. Regardless, the innocence (or lack thereof) and nostalgia factor for me makes me tear up a little bit every time I hear the number.

“The Rules” happen and my favorite part is probably Lisa Howard’s placement on “offSTAGE”. Just a perfect vowel. Rona gets her first “Moment of the Bee”, which is just delightful in every way. The octave jump on “confide” is just so perfect. She’s so motherly and adorable and sweet in every way shape and form. The song ends and the kids begin spelling.

Olive begins to explain to the audience her home situation in “My Friend, the Dictionary”. She sings about how no matter how the kids act at school, her dictionary is her best friend. I love the tender moment Rona has with Olive as she realizes how similar they are. The harmonies at the end actually remind me a lot of baroque music with moving parts in counterpoint, and they sound very lovely.

“Pandemonium” begins and it’s exactly what it sounds like. Lots of fun jazzy piano stuff. Chip gets to riff VERY high. Not much else I feel about the number. When I did it in high school, one of my favorite moments was that two of my best friends played Rona and Olive, and my friend Iliana was told by our director to jump on a trampoline she pulls on from the wings and hold one of the audience spellers’ hands and jump in a circle and honestly it’s just so funny to picture and think about. That was a fun song all in all.

Next comes a delightful song sung by Leaf Coneybear explaining his home life, “I’m Not That Smart”. He delves into how his family calls him dumb and weird and all that. The song is very funny and kind of adorable in a sense.

Next comes one of my favorite numbers, “Magic Foot”. William Barfee displays his spelling talents to anyone and everyone who will watch and listen as he spells Hasenpfeffer. With his feet. The song is one of those where you think singing it will be a walk in the park; it’s not. Singing in the character voice, which I refer to as a combination of Little Sally from Urinetown and Miranda Sings, personally, made it a challenge, especially taking it up to an A at the end. Overall, this song is so fun to perform. In fact the character in general is fun to perform.

There’s a reprise of “Pandemonium” and Chip gets eliminated from the Bee, and Rona sings another “Favorite Moment of the Bee”.

Then, Derrick Baskin goes OFF in “Prayer of the Comfort Counselor”. A lot of productions have cast a woman as Mitch because the song sits so high in a lot of men's voices. So he’s busy going off and then miss LISA HOWARD decides to go off TOO. She literally starts wailing on a high B and starts riffing. I can’t imagine being an audience member onstage during all of this.

If there is an intermission break (because the show was written to be performed in one act) “My Unfortunate Erection” begins Act Two. This song is quite range-y and very difficult to sing. There are a lot of accidentals along the way that can be very hard to hear, not to mention that it ends on a high Ab. There are several of those throughout the song. Chip is quite a role to sing. It’s nothing that can be just looked over, not to mention it’s freaking hilarious. The kid gets distracted by Leaf’s sister, Marigold, and gets distracted. That’s why his predicament is so unfortunate. RIP.

Of all the zany songs in this show, “Woe Is Me” is definitely my favorite. This. Song. Is. So. Fun. The harmonies are super cool and the song is just all over the place. Something I’m obsessed with is the belted C at the end for 9 measure. 9. What I’m most obsessed with, though, is the dialogue between verses. Derrick Baskin (Mitch Mahoney) also double as one of Schwartzy’s dads and he says the line, “Don’t call her her B.M., Carl!” I’m just obsessed with that. Check that one out.

Leaf gets eliminated and sings a reprise of “I’m Not That Smart”. The best part of this song is when the song is over. My friend Darian decided he was going to kiss all the adults on the head and then give a Three Finger Salute from District 11 to the remaining kids, and give a heartfelt goodbye to the trophy by licking it.

Marcy Park reaches her breaking point and corrects Ms. Peretti by telling her “I Speak Six Languages”. The song has some nice opportunities for the actress to show off her special skills. My favorite part was the harmonies Schwartzy, Olive, and Rona sing underneath the song.

Marcy does self-sabotage and misspells camouflage on purpose, and is eliminated.

Then comes everyone’s favorite song “The I Love You Song”. The song is very well-written, and is definitely a standout in the show. I think one reason it is such a standout is because it’s so out of place compared to the rest of the show. It does give some background to Olive’s character. You get a glimpse in her fantasy life. Her parents aren’t around much. There is possible abuse implied by Olive’s line to her mother that says “I think he takes out on me what he wants to take out on you” crying out to her mother and belting an F#. Everyone ends up on a unison B.

Schwartzy gets eliminated and sings a reprise of “Woe Is Me” to America.

The Finale section is loaded with so much. Lisa Howard begins it by singing her true “Favorite Moment of the Bee”. Barf and Olive both begin spelling and each take a verse explaining their thoughts. Olive goes first and proclaims in “Second” that she will not come in second. Then Barf begins his thoughts by saying “Am I a Red Sock or a Yankee? Who will come in second?” I have absolutely no clue why he says that but it’s hilarious. Then they sing together about their own thoughts and the chorus comes in behind them as they spell. Olive and Barf then have a Dream Pas de Deux with BEAUTIFUL chorus harmonies. They then begin the “Second” motif again. Barf ends up spelling Weltanschauung correctly, much to his dismay. Olive has become his only friend and he feels like if he wins, he might lose that friendship. She pushes him along, saying “It’s alright, Barf.” He then wins a trophy and a friendship.

The “Finale” and “The Last Goodbye” are reprises from earlier in the show, and all the kids are thankful for the opportunity.

Audition Songs

This show has plenty of audition song opportunities. The songs would be really good for shows like You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, 13, and really anything that features children or adults playing children.

“My Favorite Moment of the Bee” - Rona Lisa Peretti, D4-D5

Good, short soprano song. Starts after “The Rules”.

“My Friend, the Dictionary” - Olive Ostrovsky, B3-D5

If you cut the ensemble vocals, this is a great audition song for a Mezzo or a Soprano.

“I’m Not That Smart” - Leaf Coneybear, A2-A4

Fantastic and hilarious song for a Baritone or Tenor.

“Magic Foot” - William Barfee, F3-A4

Great character song for a Tenor.

“Prayer of the Comfort Counselor” - Mitch Mahoney, E3-A4

Good song for an Alto or Tenor.

“My Unfortunate Erection” - Chip Tolentino, Db3-Ab4

Fantastic song for a tenor. Just be wary of bringing this to an audition because the accompaniment is pretty complicated. Nothing a good pianist can’t sight-read, but still hard.

“Woe Is Me” - Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, G3-C5

Also a great character song for an Alto or Mezzo.

“I Speak Six Languages” - Marcy Park, B3-D5

Good song for a Mezzo good at deadpan comedy. Maybe a Wednesday Addams-type character.

To Wrap It Up

This show is very special to me. For a lot of productions, there are very specific ways a lot of things should go. The Broadway production set a lot of precedents, especially physical. Most productions have kept up with that. The stereotypes adopted work incredibly well for the characters, though. For example, Barf is normally fat, as indicated by his character description in the script, Schwartzy is normally donned with braids down both sides of her head, and Mitch is typically Black. The best part about this show is that while physical attributes should be important, the show will work regardless. Something I noticed is that every character gets their own moment to display their talent. Every character has a solo of some sort except for Vice Principal Douglas Panch. He does however get his moment to display his talent by multiple instances of improv and also a sort of mental breakdown towards the end of the show. On the subject of Panch, it is really easy for his character to get incredibly monotone and annoying. I do understand that that’s his character, but to a point. Panch is supposed to be dry; typically starting out quiet and sort of monotone, and along the way, he gets louder and more upset, leading to his nervous breakdown. There has to be somewhere to go. Some people just do it so straight. Like there’s character to the man. Another strange character to get right is Marcy Park. There’s a lot underneath her stone cold face and multiple abilities. Regardless, this is and will always be one of my favorite shows. Licensing is available through MTI. The show is incredibly accessible for high schools, too!

Get it.