INTERVIEW: Philippe Arroyo stars in ‘Spelling Bee.’ That’s P-H-I-L-I-P-P-E.
Photo: Philippe Arroyo stars in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Photo courtesy of Joan Marcus / Provided by Vivacity Media Group with permission.
NEW YORK — One of the most celebrated off-Broadway productions of the season is the 20th anniversary revival of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, now enjoying an extended run at New World Stages in Midtown Manhattan. The show stars a bevy of theatrical talent, including Philippe Arroyo as Chip Tolentino; the actor is perhaps best known for his long run in & Juliet on Broadway.
“I had heard of it growing up certainly because it had become such a popular musical throughout my childhood, but I never got a chance to see it,” Arroyo said in a recent phone interview about his introduction to the show. “I grew up in Florida, so coming to New York to see Broadway shows was just few and far between. But it wasn’t until college that I had my first taste of it.”
Arroyo, an alumnus of Carnegie Mellon University, remembers having an instructor who said he would be perfect for the musical and the role of Chip, but he didn’t know about the source material until the audition process for this particular production, which is directed by Danny Mefford. The musical features music and lyrics by William Finn, and a book by Rachel Sheinkin.
“I really truly knew nothing about the show,” the actor said. “I knew it was a comedy. I knew it was going to make me laugh. The improv aspect was a little daunting for me because I had never done anything like that before, but I didn’t expect the show to have an emotional peak as well. I didn’t expect to be watching my colleagues do this show and to be able to feel something as well as laugh. That was an exciting surprise for me.”
That improv aspect of Spelling Bee makes for some hilarious jokes. A few lucky spellers are called up from the audience to sit amongst the cast members and try their hand at winning the spelling bee. This keeps the actors on stage on their toes. Joining Arroyo in the revival are Autumn Best, Leana Rae Concepcion, Justin Cooley, Lilli Cooper, Jason Kravits, Matt Manuel, Kevin McHale and Jasmine Amy Rogers.
“I’ve never been in a show that contains this level of audience participation, but that also is I think one of the most exciting aspects of the show, too,” he said. “Every night is going to be different. We make a lot of references to what they’re wearing, what they look like, just different aspects to those specific people, and, of course, we have certain guest spellers, as we like to call them, come in. And they realize they’re on stage and make a bit of a meal of it.”
Arroyo added: “It’s unlike any experience I’ve ever been a part of. … It makes everyone on stage incredibly present, which is hard for any actor to do over the course of eight shows a week, but for this show, it makes you present because it’s just so uncertain. And then from the audience’s perspective, it’s kind of amazing because it’s clear that this show happens on this night. … It’s not the show that happened yesterday. It’s not the show that’s going to happen tomorrow. It’s the show that’s taking place tonight.”
Arroyo opened up about some of his own experiences in spelling bees. He remembers one time in third grade when he actually won a contest and had the chance to move one step closer to the nationals, but then he faced a word that proved insurmountable.
“I misspelled the word alligator, and I wasn’t sure if it had one ‘l’ or two,” he said. “If you asked me right now to spell alligator for you, I don’t know that I would because the trauma from me misspelling it the first time I don’t think ever fully allowed me to heal or recover. And I will never know how to spell that word, and I think I prefer it that way.”
These past few months, Arroyo and the company have been having so much fun bringing this beloved show to life at New World Stages. In the beginning, he was feeling the pressure, especially because the Chip character has one of the most iconic songs in the entire show (it’s best to keep that one a secret), a song that requires him to head into the crowd for even more audience participation, including the throwing of candy.
“It’s really fun actually,” Arroyo said. “I think in the beginning I was feeling a lot of pressure. I think with this show in general there was a ton of pressure because it was such a hit 20 years ago, and you want to make the original creators proud. There’s a lot of people who know the show very well who come to see the show, and you want to make them proud.”
He added: “I get to interact with the audience really up in their face, and it’s been really exciting because I’m looking out, and I’m seeing everyone’s big smiles. Everyone wants to participate. Everyone wants to catch some candy. Everyone is laughing, having so much fun. … [My character] was just humiliated, and he’s not handling it well. I think his arc throughout the whole show is ultimately developing this humbleness that comes maybe later in life, that he didn’t have in the beginning. Getting to thrash out and have a little temper tantrum is very much in line with the way that I was as a little kid because, I don’t know about you, but I was a little problem devil child when I was growing up. So to be able to dream that into today has been really eye-opening. In a lot of ways, I feel like I’m healing my inner child.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, starring Philippe Arroyo, is currently running at New World Stages in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
