#rona lisa peretti

[toooliix]

hey! alright so i may have done a thing

so for the past,,, idk 3 weeks? ive been going on a deep dive into spelling bee mostly to sedate my own curiosity of needing to know everything about what i'm interested in. as it turns out, there is a LOT of content with this musical, so i'm here to talk about my findings! note: i will be keeping this EXCLUSIVE to the original 2005 off broadway cast. as much as i'm a brown university girlie through and through, the original cast is where the content is. OKAY FIRST: youtube findings

a lot of small videos were made usually with logainne and leaf. you'll be quick to learn that they made the most off stage content. i have a public playlist with these videos, along with interviews, the original boot, and a few other things. the cast album isn't in it because that's audio only and i want visuals damnit. (plus its on spotify and easy to look up so.) the exception is 25apcsbmt12doc because its pretty underground and the purpose is to get word out about niche things.

second: myspace pages a lot of the spellers have myspace pages! this is like. a common thing!! only two were archived (leaf and logainne) and are able to be accessed! i'll talk about the others in a bit. they contain new information and i personally find them very interesting!

leaf logainne

HOWEVER: three are currently able to be accessed through modern myspace without needing an account. the format is off, but it's accessable.

barfee 25apcsb account panch third: other

there's two different things here so i'll separate them :]

3.1: r/v club

r/v club is a short film by rebecca feldman (one of the people that worked on spelling bee) that includes logainne! it can be found on her site with other short films. i believe this is the only one with her in it HOWEVER i have not checked therefore i could be wrong. it's set post-spelling bee, i believe. also jesse is in it but not as leaf.

r/v club

3.2: official site

spelling bee had a site!! and official merch!! its just a cool thing i think. it'll be mentioned again in the last section

spelling bee site

fourth and final: lost media (to my knowledge)

okay, spelling bee has.... QUITE a bit of lost media. again, this will be separated into parts.

4.1: C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E

before spelling bee was a thing, crepuscule (albiet mispronounced) was an improv play made by the farm. (same group who made r/v club) a lot of the characters were similar or the same, and it has a similar premise. however, it wasn't a musical. from what i've heard, there USED to be a boot of it, however i haven't found one of my own. i would love to be corrected.

4.2 myspace pages

remember how i was going to say this was going to come up again? hi thats now. outside of leaf and logainne, other myspace accounts were made! mitch (comfortcounselor), olive (mydictionary) + (oliveostrovsky), chip (chiptolentino), marigold (marigoldconeybear) an olive and barfee joint account (ilovemydictionary), and a leaf and logainne joint account (schwartzylogan). there's also another leaf account with the very confusing name of panchspell the issue with these is that theyre not archived, so you'll need a myspace account with a verified email to view these. in the year of our lord 2024 that's not exactly an easy find, especially since verification emails no longer send. plus, one of olive's accounts is dictionary.com now so,,,, who knows what it looks like there. most also need a connection, which makes things even MORE difficult. i hate how close but out of reach these accounts are.

4.3. spelling bee game

yeah they had a game. it's on the site, and it's eternally stuck at loading characters from my experience. here's the link anyway! game

4.4 the dirty bee

oh jesus its the dirty bee. so for context, in 2006 when the show was running, a few nights were booked for spelling bee that were meant for mature audiences and were 18 plus. it's catered towards people who have already seen the bee and want something new. it was inspired by jay (panch) and putting in words or sentences researsals that were clearly for funnies because he was bored. alas it became a derivative of the musical. all we know is what an article provides (theres more than one but the one linked gives the most info) and that chip quote unquote "finished off" at my unfortunate erection according to jose. there's rumor that chip is canonically bi in it but theres no sources so,,,, can't confirm that one.

article

(the quote is said in the reunion "stars in the house" and is found in the playlist)

conclusion:

there's genuinely so much shit in this musical i find it fascinating. this post WILL be updated with any other finds or information. PLEASE dm me or let me know if i got something wrong or if you have something to add (though do add a source, please and thank you)

ALSO: reblogs are greatly appreciated!! shoutout to the wiki, @/honkmaster69 and the people i spam in dms for helping and tolerating me <33

[annieedisonfriendofellen]

I made more spelling bee memes

[asexual-juliet]

im just saying that olive ostrovsky & rona lisa peretti are literally matilda & miss honey

[real-odark]

25apcsb enjoyers listen to me talk about(/kind of review it for you? except not really because i will never say anything bad about this production) my favorite production of the show!

ever.

MAD theater i LOVE YOU.

i saw their production live (the first time ive ever seen this show live or a production by this company) and it was AMAZING. this is my favorite cast for this show hands down and let me show you some stuff and why you should love them, too !!

(IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO HEAR ME TALK ABOUT IT/WOULD RATHER SEE THE CAST, I HAVE PICTURES AND A VIDEO NEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE POST!!)

here are all of the spellers! arent they the cutest :3 they all portray their characters PERFECTLY, and im currently on a hunt to see all of them in more performances because WOW . i know the point of the show is for it to be obvious these arent preteens playing them but all three of the girls were so cute honestly id trust them if they said they were it was so good. im gonna talk about all of them too !;;

their leaf was obsessed with sonic (sporting a nice sonic cape), and had a very good dynamic with every character and audience member he interacted with ! he say by me when he was eliminated and we talked a bit, and met his actor after the show. ALSO, playing logainne's dad with his soda and being the soccer mom ever is 100% approved by me . the way he effortlessly exchanged between the two roles was . AH.

olive was PERFECT. i cried at the i love you song so bad her little pom poms and im just mhejkn, her fidgeting with the strings of her cat hoodie whenever she was nervous was a great detail just small things like that

CHIP. chip chip chip. boy scout of the year, and JESUS ON A SCOOTER. he was so sassy and his little shenanigans made this character so good hed bite his lip and do little faces like that all the time he never broke id trust this man with my life

barfee , so nerdy i cannot resist this guy. he looks like he smells like hamburger and you know what? perfect. meeting him afterwards, he said that his shoes (for magic foot) were glow up sketchers and both of them were supposed to glow but only ONE did (the other broke) a few nights before and what a champ because he just went with it and CHANGED THE FOOT HE WAS USING to match the one that glew. i wouldve had a breakdown but go richard brown. through the whole show his bad accent and wet dog looks intrigued me

marcy was literally perfection, she had ME stressin out for her. i was sitting by the actresses' grandma and she was so fond of her its so cute. her singing voice is AMAZING there is a clip online i know of its on the theatre's tiktok but to hear that in person when its the song that got me into the show was wow. i relate to her very much and she made this character so personal even with just being in bits and pieces of the show

and finally, logainne. god she was SO FUNNY. the interactions between her and her dads, as well as the other spellers, were hilarious but also so real feeling. her actress, taylor,'s dedication to this role really showed and it worked awesome in the character. her appearance and outfit is the BEST for logainne btw??? no ones talking bout that its so so her ...,

^ also since i mentioned leaf's water bottle, logainne had a pride one + barfee had a pokemon cup. i think olive had one but if she did it was in the bleachers so i couldn't see, but i love how all of their bottles (yes even something just SMALL LIKE THAT) represent their characters the details in this show are sjsjd

here is a picture with the adults too! ill talk abt those three next;;

rona. again, had me crying in the stands. she was adorable the whole show though, with her little quips and interchanges !! her + panch were so funny and also shes GORGEOUS?? but her soccer mom teacher type deal is exactly what i picture rona as.

panch reminded me very very much of ron swanson. he was so sarcastic and hes just such a big guy with all these kids it played off so well !! i love so many different interpretations of panch like twink panch and butch panch, but i think this burly panch with his soft, creepy side for rona was my favorite !

and now, lastly, mitch. HE KEPT BUSTING OUT AS THE SIDE CHARACTER WITH THE AMAZINF SINGING VOICE AND IT CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD EVERY TIME ??? mitch himself was so so awesome, the tattoos and drug apparell (i am struggling spelling that) fit so well. and also, he just looks so mitch mahoney doesnt he?? like. the character fits the actor so well id be shocked seeing anything else from them because mitch was the perfect role... again, his brief dynamic with all the kids is so goofy

the set;;

it was so cute and the details in the posters on the wall were so childish it made me giggle. they even advertised their theatre's next production, which will be urinetown!! they had seats ON the stage (which is where i sat, naturally), which i think makes for a fun and realistic effect !! when the spellers were eliminated, theyd sit there (they had reserved spots) :3

its evident that all of the cast members had very good relatioships and play off that REALLY well

a little photo dump of them!! on the MAD theatre social medias, they have more and clips of them, too!! id definitely reccomend checking them out because the show's closed :3

overall; i have so much love for this cast and MORE PEOPLE NEED TO AS WELL!!! so here you go 😊😊

[alyssa-the-witch]

Quotebook Update!

Code~ -D- Director -C- Choreographer -MD- Music Director ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ walks up to mic to sing-Barfée "No, not yet, sorry." -C "DAMN IT!" walks back -Barfée

"They have prison churches?" -Rona "Yeah! Prison is fun!" -D

"Make your legs... oh, what's..." -C "Shoulder-width apart?" -MD wildly gesturing to legs and shoulders "This!" -C

"giving a very in-depth speech on the show and how it elaborates on growing up and issues kids like us all face or faced." -MD "Back to the boobs?" -C "Back to the boobs." -MD

"It's a trained disassociation." -MD "Oh, disassociation, I do that all the time!" -Rona

[johnnybgoodes]

if any spelling bee fans still exist out there, check out my fic in progress!! <3

[undescribed1mage]

Forcing you 2 look @ my bracelets PLEASE

[missronalisa]

🏆🐝

Hello everyone! My name is Rona Lisa Peretti and I’ve been the host of the Putnam County Spelling Bee for nine consecutive years now! I was also the winner of the Third Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee! Syzygy: When the Earth aligns with the Moon and the Sun. ❤️

I look forward to get to know everyone here! 😊

[gleedreamcasts]

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

requested by anon

Rachel Berry as Rona Lisa Peretti

Artie Abrams as Vice Principal Douglas Panch

Unique Adams as Mitch Mahoney

Mercedes Jones as Olive Ostrovsky

Kurt Hummel as William Morris Barfée

Kitty Wilde as Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre

Tina Cohen-Chang as Marcy Park

Sam Evans as Leaf Coneybear

Blaine Anderson as Chip Tolentino

[wheresurboytonighthelookslikeenj]

chip tolentino headcanons :)

fam moved from the philippines when he was five

as a tot his nickname was itoy but when they moved kids thought it was strange so he's chip now

(he shares this nickname with the spelling bee gang years later and they (particularly leaf and olive) find it adorable)

marcy and schwarzy, however, refuse to call him anything other than tolentino

marcy does jokingly call him "kuya" (older brother, basically) sometimes, though over the years it becomes less ironic

they owned a dog in the philippines but left it behind when they moved :(

can spell and sport; cannot math, unfortunately

he is the shortest of the boys but taller than marcy and schwarzy

bi and lithosexual--leaf's ace so it kinda all works out

the first time he uses the term "alpha male" in front of schwarzy she punches him and then goes off on him and he never says it again

chip's greatest achievement isn't winning the 24th annual putnam county spelling bee or leading his little league team to victory in two separate seasons or earning almost every badge he can as a scout; it's actually introducing leaf coneybear to these babies

he's absent from the 26th annual and the others joke that he's too ashamed after last year; in reality his family's just in the philippines for a month

whenever it's his turn to choose the movie he puts on one of the air bud movies

leaf finds christmas fun. chip's family starts decorating right after halloween (another fav of leaf's) and doesn't put stuff away till the end of january. leaf is over a lot from november to january because of this.

marcy is absolutely floored at how effortlessly he can code switch between tagalog and english; sure she knows six languages but to switch between them requires a whole lot of brain power that she doesn't want to exert anymore, when chip's out here like "hay naku i'm never babysitting my neighbour again, sobrang gulo doon, like grabe naman,,,,"

he gets his first job at a corner store

he's really into like semi-emo bands like boys like girls and the all-american rejects because his parents like them, will uses it as ammunition for teasing

also he gets into one direction when they're big, will also uses this as ammunition for teasing

he and will are both bi and chip resents everything they have in common but they both agree that doug panch is indeed a dilf and rona lisa peretti is indeed a milf

[meowydoe]

Rona Lisa Peretti core I think

[toooliix]

i had a moment

[theiloveyousong]

IS THAT THE RONA LISA PERETTI GIRL?? IVE NEVWR WATCHED 25TH ANNUAL SPELLING BEE IMSORRY

THAT IS PROBABLY. A RONA YES

[cywhirlgates]

A high school gym set up for a spelling bee.

A few rows of bleachers or chairs are set up for the spellers; across from them is a desk for the host and word pronouncer. Front and center, the lone looming microphone, at which the contestants will attempt to spell as yet unknown words.

RONA LISA PERETTI, long time local hostess of the bee enters and makes sure all is in order. While adjusting the microphone RONA flashes back to the moment when she herself stood here as a contestant—and spelled her winning word.

VOICE

RONA

VOICE RONA

CHIP’s entrance jars Rona from her memory. Last year’s champion, he is first to arrive. As spellers arrive each checks in with RONA and receives a placard with a number.

CHIP

AT THE 25TH ANNUAL

PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE MY PARENTS KEEP ON TELLING ME JUST BEING HERE IS WINNING. ALTHOUGH

I KNOW IT ISN’T SO.

(He does know this; he did poorly last year at Nationals)

Miss Peretti. Please spell “Syzygy.”

Syzygy. S-Y-Z-Y-G-Y Syzygy!

We have a winner!

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. (hugs trophy) (MUSIC CUE)

BUT IT’S A VERY NICE VERY VERY NICE...

VERY VERY NICE

VERY NICE BEGINNING.

RONA

RONA, CHIP

Circle In The Square 3.21.07

1

RONA

Our winner here last year: Chip Tolentino. Let’s give him a hand!

SCHWARZY enters, eager, excited, wound-up, already nearly breathless.

SCHWARZY

Ms. Peretti!

RONA

And, our youngest competitor, Logainne SchwarzandGrubeniere,

Schwarzy and Chip check each other out competitively. Coneybear runs in.

CONEYBEAR

AT THE 25TH ANNUAL

PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING GAME (Bee!)

I’LL STAND WHEN THEY ANNOUNCE MY NAME:

RONA

Leaf Coneybear.

CONEYBEAR AND TRY TO KEEP FROM SHAKING.

SCHWARZY HIS SHAKING WILL NOT PASS

CONEYBEAR, CHIP, RONA AND SCHWARZY ‘CAUSE IT’S A VERY BIG

VERY FRAUGHT-

SIMPLE BUT IT’S NOT-

IT’S A VERY BIG UNDERTAKING.

ALAS

Barfee enters, stumblingly

(with some surprise and admiration)

RONA Returning after last season’s tragic setback: William Barfee.

BARFEE It’s pronounced Barfée; there’s an accent ague.

Circle In The Square 3.21.07 2

Marcy enters. She’s calm, you might even mistakenly think blasé.

I’m not sure who this girl is- Marcy Park.

RONA MARCY SCHWARZY

WINNER’S DESTINATION: WASHINGTON, D.C. CHIP/SCHWARZY

PLASMA TV

IN A FANCY HOTEL.

MARCY/CHIP/SCHWARZY WHERE THEY TREAT YOU WELL.

ALL SPELLERS ALL BECAUSE YOU LOVE TO SPELL.

WE SPELL.

RONA IT’S A MARVELOUS MEMORY

IF YOU WIN THE SPELLING BEE.

ONE’S LIFE IMPROVES FROM A TO Z THE MINUTE YOU ARE CROWNED HERE. I SEE

A TROPHY HELD BY ME!

AND WHEN I WON

DID I SWELL—

OH THE STORIES I COULD TELL—

BUT BRAGGARTS WON’T DO WELL AROUND HERE.

OLIVE enters. It’s her first time at county level competition and she’s not sure what to do. She sees Barfee standing alone doing what looks like some foot exercise. She approaches.

OLIVE

Hi- do you know where I check in?

Excuse me, I’ve marked this area off with invisible tape

Circle In The Square 3.21.07 3

BARFEE (with hostility)

CONEYBEAR WE’VE MEMORIZED THE MANUAL...

ALL SPELLERS ABOUT HOW TO SPELL THESE WORDS.

WORDS THAT REQUIRE THOUGHT. PEOPLE THINK WE’RE AUTOMATONS. BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE’RE NOT.

MARCY SCHWARZY CONEYBEAR ALL SPELLERS

RONA

AT THE 25TH ANNUAL

WE HEAR THE WORD,

WE BREATHE,

WE WAIT.

UNLIKE IDIOTS WE IDEATE.

(helpfully, in announcer mode)

To ideate is to form an image or idea, to think

CONEYBEAR

AT THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

SCHWARZY

WE FEEL NO ANIMOSITY

SCHWARZY/OLIVE AND YET OUR HEADS ARE SPINNING.

BARFEE THE SLIGHTEST BIT BIZARRE

MARCY BUT SINCE THE TIME IS NOW

WE ARE

HOLY COW Circle In The Square 3.21.07

4

CONEYBEAR

SCHWARZY WE SHALL TAKE A SOLEMN VOW

TO CONCENTRATE ON WINNING.

ALL WE CONCENTRATE ON WINNING.

AT THE TWENTY FIFTH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE WE SPEAK SO DAMN CONVINCINGLY.

RONA THEY’RE NERVOUS BUT THEY’RE GRINNING.

GIRLS (OLIVE/MARCY/SCHWARZY) WE’RE LIVING OUT OUR DREAMS

SCHWARZY translates above in sign language

IT SEEMS

BOYS VERY NICE, VERY VERY VERY NICE

WHICH IS A VERY NICE

VERY NICE, VERY NICE VERY VERY VERY NICE VERY NICE

BEGINNING .

TWENTY FIFTH ANNUAL TWENTY FIFTH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

ALL

RONA KIDS ALL

banger

[homosandhomies]

[alyssa-the-witch]

Closing Night

Well, the show is over! I apologize for the wait, tech week got chaotic. But the show had its opening night last week and closed two days later. And I had a wonderful time! The volunteers were all so excited to be there, and one of my friends got picked, too! Thankfully she made it to Comfort Counseller. So, I'll be making more posts looking back on the show!