It was a fluke that worked out so well -- lik eit was almost meant to be. After asking a few students if the wanted to attend a showing og "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" on Saturday night, I tried to call the ticket office, butthe hours had passed. Since we were already in the neighborhood of the theater, I said we should go by and see if any tickets were available. When we got there, turns out there were still four seats for us at the orchestra level -- $66 each. That's not bad for a Broadway show that is playing here before heading out on tour. Then, I asked if there was a student discount, and the sales woman said she had some seats just to the side -- still very good -- for $25 two hours before the show (which it was). Jackpot! We took them.
We arrived early to get seated. I tried to be a speller, meaning that the troupe selects four audience members to participate in the show as spellers. I thought I was a shoe-in as an English teacher, but I missed going back out to the lobby when I was supposed to be there. In retrospect, I think that would have been a blast, but I also would not have seen the show as much, so it was OK that I was not able to participate.
The show rocked! The music is adorable, the cast hilarious. The basic premise is an elementary school spelling bee, and all the pressures and personalities associated with that. It runs one hour and 45 minutes with no intermission, and there is lots of audience interaction in addition to the spellers. Also, there are customizable portions of the script where the cast inserts bits about the news or local scene. It was clear there were a few San Francisco-based jokes. Hilarious.
All in all, to see a fantastic show for just $25 -- and before anyone else I know did -- was a treat for me and my students. I hope I can take students to a show like this in the future instead of spending the Saturday night of our convention at the dance. This made my San Francisco trip memorable.
As they said in the show when someone was eliminated from the bee: "Bye bye!"
-- San Francisco
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Considering your close affiliation with young writers, are you discussing the recent demise of the Harvard student's book contract? Plagiarizer extraordinaire...et tu Meg Cabot? et tu Megan McCafferty? et tu Sophie Kinsella? Are your students following the story?
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