The City High Drama Board’s summer production of “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was cast last night. The production is small, with a cast of only 22 students, and even fewer principal roles. The small cast is not the only unique aspect of the show. The show is completely student run, although there is no specific director. Additionally, the principal role of William Barfee will be played by a current eighth grader at South East, Whit Jury ‘23. While many of the leads have experience being cast as a lead for City shows, not everyone does, including Francesca Brown ‘21, who will be playing the role of Marcy Park.

“I feel great. This is my first big role at City. I’m really excited. And I think that it’s going to be a really rewarding production since its student produced,” Brown said.

Reese Hill ‘20, playing the role of Olive Ostrovsky, is on the Drama Board and was one of the pioneers of the idea of putting on Putnam. Although she is in the show, she also is one of the students putting it together, giving her a directorial perspective.

“I was a little bit surprised because I wasn’t really sure what to expect from people coming in,” Hill said. “It was so interesting getting to talk with somebody who watched the auditions and figure out kind of what a director is thinking.”

Putnam is a story about a group of quirky elementary schoolers participating in their county’s regional spelling bee. The show revolves more around the characters than it does a plot.

“My favorite aspect of Putnam is how weird all the characters are, and how if you knew the characters in real life, you’d probably make fun of them,” Hill said.  “But it’s a really touching show, because you relate to people who society maybe calls kind of weird.”

The show will be performed on June 5th and 6th at 7:30 PM in Opstad.

“I’m really excited about the future of the show because I think it highlights some of the seniors who have had a lot of time on stage already, but also brings in Whit, who is an eighth grader, and it’s gives us all a chance [to be a lead], including some people who haven’t had a lead yet or haven’t been in all the musicals, and I think [these people] are going to be very successful,” Hill said.

Rehearsals for Putnam start today after school and will continue into the summer.