It's the Spelling Bee for the 3rd Time

Yes, I saw The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for the third time last night (Saturday, December 5, 2009)!  And with me was my best friend Ruel whom I was with the first time I watched the musical (the second time, I was with my officemate and her friends).  And what's the difference the third time around?  Well, I became part of the musical!  Yep, you read that right!  I was invited to be one of the guest spellers, along with another audience participant and two celebrities--Ana Capri and Toffee Calma (just in case you are wondering why they were there, Atlantis Productions was staging an adult version of The Bee that night).  

So how did it all happen?  Ruel and I bought our tickets early... around 6pm.  And Hoagy (one of the production staff) ran after us when we were just about to go and have dinner.  She asked me if I'd be interested to be part of that night's program.  I told her that I have been thinking about it ever since I watched the play the first time.  There was a question on her face and told her that it was my third time to see it (Ruel chimed in that it was his second time).  So I said, "Sure, why not?"  "So you know the process?"  Hoagy asked.  And I told her yes but Ruel said maybe she can brief me again.  So Hoagy obliged and told me that I will be called on stage and I can only ask two questions: the definition of the word and its use in a sentence.  Easy, ain't it?  Then she handed me a pin (on which was printed: I Speak Six Languages) and took a photo of me (full body at that, 3x, since the first two attempts was a dud).  She said that we should be back 30 minutes before 8pm. 

-oOo-

With still the same formidable cast in the previous run at RCBC's Carlos P. Romulo Theater, I get to watch these magnificent actors up close and on stage!  Obviously, I'm not going to review the musical.  :o)

Ms. Peretti (Cathy Azanza) entered from downstage, the audience realized that the play has begun.  After all the instructions she gave to the audience (which was part of the play), Ms. Peretti began the first number, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, with the cast joining in, as each spelling bee contestant was introduced by her.  Once the number was finished, Ms. Peretti noticed that the contest was missing four participants.  So I braced myself as she began her roll call. 

Ms. Peretti first called on Ana Capri, then me (my number was 28), then a female audience participant (who was wearing slippers), then finally, Toffee Calma (who got No. 69, Ms. Peretti's favorite number! Hahahahahaha!).  It was fun to be on stage with these stage actors!  And they were really into it, they were all so professional that you feel that they are these people they are portraying.

Next song number was The Spelling Rules/My Favorite Moment of the Bee by Ms. Peretti and the cast.  The contest has begun. 
Anyway, my first word was marlin.  Would you believe that I had a mental block at that moment?  I was really freaking out!  It would prove to be embarrassing if I bungled that word!  Golly!  All I can think of was m-a-r-l-y-n or m-a-r-l-e-n-e!  Good thing that I was able to ask for the definition and the usage of the word.  It bought me time (not that it helped me remember the spelling)!  And I was able to spell the word correctly! After that first word, I know that I would be able to wing it!


Next song number was My Friend, the Dictionary by Olive Ostrovsky (portrayed by Carla Guevara-Laforteza).


Anyway, the first one to be eliminated was Ana Capri.  Her word was zuuzuu.  Which she spelled z-u-z-u. so The First Goodbye was sung by Mr. Panche and the cast to her. 

Second was the girl who was wearing slippers (when she was called to spell her word, she was introduced by Ms. Peretti as someone who joined the contest to raise funds to buy shoes! hahahahaha).  Third was Toffee Calma, who asked Ms. Peretti if he could just take off his clothes, instead of spelling his given word. 

One unforgettable turn for me was when Ms. Peretti introduced me as someone who was four pounds away from my ideal bikini weight (that brought the house down! Hilarious!)  The word that I was to spell was nantle.  I asked for a definition and its meaning was fondle.  I asked for its usage and Mr Panche (played by Joel Trinidad) used it this way:

"Nantle me, big boy, nantle me!"  (Remember, the show was for adults!) The audience laughed! Good thing, I was able to spell it correctly! Yay!

I was able to get through the following song numbers: 

Pandemonium sung by Chip Tolentino (essayed by Felix Rivera), I'm Not That Smart by Leaf Coneybear (portrayed by Johann dela Fuente), The Second Goodbye by the cast, Magic Foot by William Barfèe (ably acted by Lorenz Martinez), Ms. Peretti and Company, Reprise of Pandemonium / My Favorite Moment of the Bee by Ms. Peretti and the cast (when Chip Tolentino was eliminated). Not bad for an audience participant, eh? 

Anyway, I know that I wouldn't last the whole show hehehe so when it was my turn to spell something (I think the word was lavalaloo, the definition of which is unknown hahahahahahahaha), I was able to spell it right.  And as I was about to take my seat, I was called again!  (The audience laughed!)   

And Mr. Panche gave me a very difficult word... meningoencephalocele... (there was an ism at the last part of the word, and this is how far I can remember the word...)  

Goodness!  The pressure was on!  Mitch Mahoney (portrayed by Noel Rayos), the Comfort Counselor, went near me as if saying "You can't spell that word correctly!"  The audience was laughing!  And yes, I bungled the word!  One letter!!! Instead of a "c", I said "s" somewhere while spelling the word!  

Oh well...

Mitch Mahoney sang the Prayer of the Comfort Counselor before he escorted me off the stage.  As I was going down the stage, the cast was behind me singing the goodbye song.  What really touched me was when they all sang the last line of the song and mentioned my name... Goodbye, Rey!  Wow!!  It was really awesome!

Now, I get to enjoy the rest of the show as part of the audience.  :o)

-oOo-

The rest of the show was a delight to watch.   All of them have grown into their roles.  Pheona Barranda as Logainne seems to wear the role as a second skin.  Carla Guevara-Laforteza's portrayal of Olive was superb. Oh, and there's a bonus a la DVD!  The cast sang Christmas carols to the delight of the audience.  

Very nice, very, very nice, very, very nice!

Congratulations to all the members of the cast.  It's one unforgettable night for me!

Notes:

Ana Capri was game that night.  Toffee Calma appeared to be clueless at all, he was coaxed by Joel Trinidad and Cathy Azanza if he wanted to have a definition and hear the usage of the word given to him to spell. Shiela Valderrama-Martinez who portrayed Marcy Park seemed to be not in her element.  Seated in front of me was Maricar Reyes (she is a class act), she wasn't calling attention to herself.