Bronxville High School presented “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” as its spring musical, and the show was held outdoors on June 4-5. Under the direction of choral director Pamela Simpson, the show featured a talented cast and crew of students. 

The musical tells the story of six prepubescents who compete in a regional spelling bee and are tested with words that ranged from the familiar, “crayon,” to the esoteric, “syzygy” to the frankly nonexistent, “catterjunes.” But correct spelling is not the only pressure facing the contestants. They must also navigate the expectations and quirks of parents, families and spelling bee administrators.

Given pandemic-related restrictions, the performances were held on the front lawn of the Bronxville School. Moving the production outdoors required extraordinary planning and sound amplification for the actors and musicians. The outdoor sound assistance was provided through a Foundation grant. The students were overjoyed to be able to carry on the wonderful tradition of the high school musical this year.

Donna Olshan, the parent of a Bronxville School graduate who was actively involved in the performing arts program, noted that it has been about 18 long pandemic months since she had seen live theater and the musical was the most wonderful treat. "What Pam Simpson pulled off was very inventive, extremely creative staging, really a model" said Olshan. "The sound system financed by the Bronxville Foundation was excellent. Every note and lyric were clear. The quality of the production was extremely high with Pam staging the musical at the entrance of the school theater as well as using several floors of the high school with actors chiming in at windows lined with posters and banners. As usual, Bronxville has talent in its ranks  but pulling it all together, and staging an outdoor musical is quite a trick. It's a very hard thing to do well, but Pam did it!"