The designers of Spelling Bee, overseen by Lead Designer Isobel Sanby, have done an excellent job in conjuring up the very specific atmosphere of a high school gym. Brenda Lam and Louisa Fitzgerald’s costumes work to highlight the distinct personalities of each of the students. Jacqui Orme’s lighting design effectively showcases the many jumps between the Spelling Bee, the student’s memories, and musical breaks.

The music, performed by Edvin Miler, Thomas McCorguodale, Jeremy Kindl, Jacob Lawler, Amy Chang and Nick Cranch, was fun and very catchy, with particularly witty lyrics by Rachel Sheinkin. Highlights include Paul Escorrido’s delightfully silly performance of My Unfortunate Erection (Chip’s Lament), Sophie Tzioumis’ rendition of I Speak Six Languages, complete with an elaborate and impressive dance routine (choreographed by Artemis Alfonzetti), and the whole ensemble’s performance of Pandemonium, one of the show’s biggest and best numbers. Near the end of the show, the story took a surprising but welcome turn into more serious territory, with Izzy Hanly’s moving rendition of The I Love You Song, a tribute to Olive’s love for her absent parents (played by Dave Collins and a wonderful Lily Stokes). 

One of the most enjoyable parts of the show was the audience interaction, with the Spelling Bee moderator (Stokes) picking four audience members to participate in the actual Spelling Bee. These volunteers sat with the rest of the students, and were included in songs, spelling and dancing before gradually getting 'eliminated'. Having new ‘characters’ every night provides perfect breeding ground for improvised comedy, which the cast had a lot of fun playing with, and the audience loved.

Another reason this musical lends itself so well to improvised comedy is the essentially performative nature of the Bee, with the ‘audience’ being supposedly filled with the children’s parents and families. This meant that there is a fun level of improvised engagement with the audience, with many of the students waving and talking to their parents in the crowd.