Newburgh - On Thursday, April 15, 2010, Newburgh Free Academy students kicked off a four day showing of the spring musical, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee", for fellow students, teachers, family members and community residents. The event was held in the North Junior High School Auditorium.
According to the cast, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is a musical comedy that chronicles the life of six young students as they compete in a spelling bee which takes place at the fictional Putnam Valley Middle School. Various events from their life- during the trials of adolescence- bring comic relief to the performance. Each character paints a portrait of real-life students and creates someone that audience members can relate to whether it be someone in their life or themselves.
Director Mandy Clifford explained that due to the renovations in the Newburgh Free Academy auditorium this year a large-scale production with big elaborate sets and large casts was not in the cards for the spring musical this year. However, this change from the norm allowed Clifford and her cast to think outside of the box when it came to selecting a performance for this year. After giving it much consideration, Clifford decided that "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee", with its smaller cast, would give the audience an intimate evening. In addition, the performance included about twenty musical numbers. Clifford cited the strong acting ability of the students and the humorous characters as the backbone behind the annual musical.
