222. The Cup | The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Shifting Ground Collective)

Welcome back to the 222nd episode of The Cup which is our a weekly (give or take, TBD, these are unprecedented times) performing arts talk show presented by Cup of Hemlock Theatre. With the theatres on a come back we offer a mix of both reviews of live shows we've seen and continued reviews of prophet productions! For our 222nd episode we bring you a Duet Review of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, directed by Jennifer Walls, and presented by Shifting Ground Collective. Join Mackenzie Horner and Ryan Borochovitz, as they discuss competitive spelling, audience participation, and neurodiverse representation. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is playing at the Aki Studio (585 Dundas St E, Toronto, ON) until March 15th, 2025. Tickets can be purchased from the following link: https://shiftinggroundcollective.com/spelling-bee/ This review contains many SPOILERS for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. It will begin with a general non-spoiler review until the [23:01] mark, followed by a more in-depth/anything goes/spoiler-rich discussion. If you intend to see the production, we recommend you stop watching after that point, or at least proceed at your own risk. Support Shifting Ground Collective: https://shiftinggroundcollective.com/support-shifting-ground/ Follow our panelists: Mackenzie Horner (Before the Downbeat: A Musical Podcast) – Instagram/Facebook: BeforetheDownbeatApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3aYbBeNSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3sAbjAuRyan Borochovitz – [Just send all that love to CoH instead; he won’t mind!]; if you enjoy his theatre thoughts, more can be found at https://nextmag.ca/search/borochovitz Follow Cup of Hemlock Theatre on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter: @cohtheatreIf you’d like us to review your upcoming show in Toronto, please send press invites/inquiries to [email protected]:00 – I-N-T-R-O 5:10 – Pre-Spoiler 14:37 – Cast Shoutouts 22:55 – SPOILERS from here on out 23:15 – Neurodiversity 38:04 – Oh Right, It’s a Musical 45:32 – Cotton Candy