The students of Theatre Western are poised and ready to take on Grammy and Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, this week at the Wave.

This marks the first time the group will perform a musical not written by Western students. It is an ambitious project, but director Joanna Agnello, a second-year economics student, is ready to go.

The adult comedy follows six pre-teens taking part in a local spelling bee competition. “You can think of it like Glee,” Agnello says, “in that the characters are all quirky and peculiar in their individual ways.” Although a musical, the production is not made up of “the stereotypical ingredients,” she adds. It’s filled with racy humour as opposed to cheesy moments of love and angst.

“It’s not Romeo and Juliet,” Agnello promises to Shakespeare haters.

The original musical received much praise for its unique quality of audience participation –– a component Theatre Western has kept in place for their version.

Prior to the beginning of the show, Agnello will select three audience members to participate during a special portion of the program. Having been provided with some general instructions, the audience members selected will join the cast on stage for the “spelling bee” when signaled. There are also moments throughout when cast members will interact with audience members as though they are attending a real spelling bee.

Agnello notes the venue will provide the intimate setting necessary to allow such audience participation to be effective. The setting will also enhance the effect of the live band, a new addition to Theatre Western productions.

This is Agnello’s first time at the helm of a musical. After years of acting and stage management, she wanted to see if she could, as she puts it, “sit in the big chair and get ‘er done.” She believes her previous experience acting has helped her with the directing job.

“As an actor, I always wanted some creative liberty that I didn’t always get,” she explains. With the experience and the unique nature of the musical, she is able to give her actors some of that liberty she knows they are vying for.

Auditions for the musical began less than seven weeks ago, but the cast and crew are ready to hit the stage. “Everyone’s drive and determination has made [the process] a lot less stressful than it could have been,” Agnello says. “I am so excited to see all their hard work come together.”

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is Theatre Western’s final project of the academic year, following November’s Spring Awakening and last month’s One Act Play Festival.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is running from Monday to Wednesday, 10 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are available at InfoSource.