The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee review

Justin Cooley in Spelling Bee. (Joan Marcus)

Think life isn't fair? What if you're a middle school student competing in a spelling bee and the word you have is "strabismus," while one of your opponents gets "pineapple"?

In The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a nostalgic charmer of a musical currently being revived Off Broadway at New World Stages, you lament your plight in a song called "Pandemonium": "Life is random and unfair/Life is pandemonium."

It may be for the six smarty students vying for victory, but audiences who long for more character-rich tuners will find their innocence and genuineness a welcome reprieve from the bleakness of grown-up life in this 20-year-old original musical by William Finn (music and lyrics) and Rachel Sheinkin (book).

Played by adults, this mixed-up group of misfits endure the pressure of competition and the stress of adolescence, and the ensemble cast in director-choreographer Danny Mefford's beautifully affecting production imbue them with heart and humor.

With an absentee mother and a busy father, lonely Olive Ostrovsky (understudy Emily N. Rudolph at the performance I caught) had to transport herself to the event. William Barfee (Glee's Kevin McHale), likely on the spectrum, uses his "magic foot" to spell words on the floor. Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Cecilia Snow, also an understudy) feels pressure from her two dads to win. 

Marcy Park (Leana Rose Concepcion) also faces familial pressure, but has a creative solution to it. Leaf Coneybear (Justin Cooley) appears to be a goofball, but when he starts to spell there's no stopping him. And poor Chip Tolentino (Philippe Arroyo), last year's winner. His out-of-control hormones could be his Achilles' heel this year.

Corralling the kids are three adults: former spelling bee champ Rona Lisa Peretti (Lili Cooper); "comfort counselor" Mitch Mahoney, ready to hand out juice boxes and hugs; and vice principal Douglas Panch (Jason Kravits), tasked with giving the kids their words — and using them in hilarious sentences.

That the kids' struggles are relatable to those of us who are long passed puberty shows how strong the material is. What's especially endearing about Spelling Bee is how unique and original the characters and songs are. At a time when so many new musicals are based on movies and filled with forgettable songs, this show's eccentricities seem all the more welcoming.