{"id":153,"date":"2016-02-17T20:04:14","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T01:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/2016\/02\/17\/see-the-bee-to-believe-the-buzz\/"},"modified":"2022-11-07T13:48:13","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T18:48:13","slug":"see-the-bee-to-believe-the-buzz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/see-the-bee-to-believe-the-buzz\/","title":{"rendered":"See the Bee to believe the buzz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/newsimg.furman.edu.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/10-20_SpellingBee04-JF.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-795 lazyload\" title=\"10-20_SpellingBee04-JF\" data-src=\"http:\/\/newsimg.furman.edu.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/10-20_SpellingBee04-JF.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"510\" height=\"340\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 510px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 510\/340;\" \/><\/a>NOVEMBER 1, 2011<br \/>\nBy Chloe Kowalski \u201912, Contributing Writer<\/p>\n<p>Gay marriage, racial stereotypes, gender norms, sex, religion, and even Charlie Sheen are far from off-limits in Furman\u2019s rendition of <em>The 25<sup>th<\/sup> Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee<\/em>, which holds nothing back for audience entertainment.<\/p>\n<p>Performing talent shines in an array of colorful costumes, charming chorus lines, and candid characters throughout the play. Even before the show\u2019s official start, the audience is enticed to participate in the ultimate spelling competition, where \u201cjust being there is winning.\u201d Four\u00a0audience members are chosen to state, spell, and repeat formerly unheard-of words, and are a critical addition\u00a0to the play\u2019s mien. The cast seamlessly pulls their audience-turned-actors along with them through a journey of self-expression and self-actualization.<\/p>\n<p>Nine students comprise the quirky cast. This small bunch proves that eccentricity and individuality go hand-in-hand with group competition. Unlike other spelling bees, Putnam\u2019s exudes electrifying high energy through perfectly choreographed dancing and immaculately sung songs. Senior Stephen Howard continuously humors\u00a0the crowd through his roles as\u00a0Leaf Coneybear, a special exception to the Bee, and as \u201cCarl Dad,\u201d one half of a contestant\u2019s male-male parents.<\/p>\n<p>Quality sound and lighting also contribute to the overall enjoyment of the play, making Furman\u2019s Playhouse a cozy setting to enjoy the Broadway hit. Audience shock often resulted from the Bee\u2019s crude humor, but laughter always settled over the crowd, dissipating any uncomfortable feelings.<\/p>\n<p>Under the direction of Maegan Azar and Marion Sprott, Furman\u2019s cast carries its energetic harmony throughout the show.\u00a0In short, the play deftly humors the crowd through quick wit and clever banter. How could anyone not enjoy Jesus making a grand entrance to Marcy Park\u2019s prayers, or a special cameo by a &#8220;celebrity&#8221; audience contestant each night?<\/p>\n<p>William Finn, who wrote the music and lyrics for the play, would be proud to see the intensity and joy that Furman channels into production. See the celebration of pandemonium for yourself\u2014just make sure you are ready to enjoy two hours of delightful entertainment.<\/p>\n<p>The show will continue to run 8 p.m. Nov. 2-5 at the\u00a0Playhouse and has a matinee 3 p.m., Nov. 6. Student, faculty, senior, and community ticket prices range from $10-20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NOVEMBER 1, 2011<br \/>\nBy Chloe Kowalski \u201912, Contributing Writer<\/p>\n<p>Gay marriage, racial stereotypes, gender norms, sex, religion, and even Charlie Sheen are far from off-limits in Furman\u2019s rendition of <em>The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee<\/em>, which holds nothing back for audience entertainment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":154,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-department-page","category-theatre-arts"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}