If you missed last night’s performance, you still have an opportunity to see something amazing. The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling opened last night, and still has performances through Sunday.

“Everyone should go see it,” audience member Tom Seline said. “It’s definitely an instant classic.”

The musical is a unique take on a spelling competition in the fictitious Putnam County. After the audience is seated in the auditorium, they are introduced to the quirky characters that keep the audience on their feet from the start of act one through the end of act two. The characters range from insecure girls with “vegetable” names to a boy scout who has a big problem when he thinks about his crush.

Simply put, the play is hilarious. It had me laughing out loud when the characters were first introduced, and kept going throughout the entire competition.

After the audience is introduced to the characters, the spelling bee starts, but not before some lucky members of the audience are chosen to participate in the spelling bee. This adds to the entertainment of the show. The cast of the show has to react to the audience member, whether they spell the word correctly or incorrectly. Throughout the process of the bee, we learn about what makes each character tick, each more funny than the last.

By intermission, my throat started to hurt because I had laughed so much. I couldn’t wait for act two to start, and to finally see who wins the bee.

The second act did not disappoint. The competitors get more cutthroat than before, almost to the point of sabotage. But the second act also makes you feel for the characters. You start to want to see one of them win, and it adds to the excitement of the show.

For a Thursday night show, the play was well attended and the cast members noticed it.

“A lot of times on Thursdays, because it’s a school night, there aren’t very many people compared to the other nights,” said senior Ellie Kroeger, who plays Rona Lisa Peretti, a former spelling bee champ and current judge. “If the crowd was like this for a Thursday, it bodes well for the rest of the show.”

Although some may think the audience adds extra pressure to the performers, director Jeremy Stoll knows the cast was ready for it.

“I think [the show] went fantastic,” Stoll said. “These guys have been waiting for an audience for three weeks, and they finally got one, and it all came together.”

Kroeger, as a cast member, agrees with the statement.

“The energy from the crowd was really good, because we have been practicing for so long without an audience,” Kroeger said. “So hearing that feedback, laughter and the reactions from the audience was really nice. It was really fun.”

I also had fun at the show. I would say that going to the play has been the highlight of my week so far. The actors were all fantastic. To be able to know all of the lines and keep character with audience members as an integral part of the play astounds me, yet the cast looked like they could do it in their sleep.

The storyline was interesting, and it had me guessing who the winner was as soon as the competition started. (You’ll have to go to the play to see who it is.) All around, it was a night well spent.

If my glowing review can’t convince you to take in this marvelous musical, there is another reason to go to the play: go to support the cast members who have worked so hard putting together the production.

“It means a lot to us if you come support our program, just like when you support the football team, basketball team, or baseball team,” Kroeger said. “This one’s a good one. It’s funny, and anyone will like it.”

Go to the show. Trust me, you will thank me later.

Q and A with Stage Manager Madison Hoy

Q: What went well tonight?

Q: Did everything go as planned?

Q: Will there be anything different about the weekend performance?

Q: Is there anything that needs to be improved?