November 17th, 2022

As mentioned in my The Wolves blog post, I am not overly familiar with the theater genre. This doesn’t come from a lack of desire to see performances on the stage or appreciation. In fact, I find theater to be a skill that is particular and curated for extremely talented individuals. Furthermore, I have found in both film and theater, the musical genre has not appealed to me at great lengths. Personally, I prefer my storytelling and musical appreciation to be separate mediums. Of course, there are exceptions to this as many films include magical musical performances and often music that simultaneously tells a story itself. But, the musical genre has historically been sidelined when it comes to my preferred medium of entertainment and storytelling. With this, I was skeptical when entering the Roger Center for Merrimack College’s Onstagers Dramatic Society’s performance of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. 

The biggest surprise that I found was how immersed I found myself in the performance. As mentioned before, I am not fond of musical performances. However, the Onstagers included performers in the audience to have the audience feel included but also to make the performance feel interactive. I also found the comedy of The Spelling Bee to be entertaining and drastically different from other theatrical performances I’ve seen both on campus and off. Ultimately, The Spelling Bee was a unique experience that I was able to enjoy the experience as a friend of those who perform and an individual that appreciates talent and art through a variety of mediums.