By Claudia Parsons
A hit Broadway musical about a schoolkids' spelling contest has been spiced up with an adults-only version laced with risque jokes about everything from Jews to panda sex.
The adult version of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," which is running for three special performances in addition to the original, embraces the politically incorrect and the downright filthy.
It offers ironic digs at racism in America, and sexy definitions of spelling-contest words like "finger" that don't appear in school dictionaries.
"Ninety-nine percent of the time we're a regular mainstream show, and once in a while we do something special for people who generally have seen the show already," Producer David Stone said.
"Spelling Bee" was the underdog triumph of last year's theater season in New York, following a dream path from a tiny improvisational theater to the big time on Broadway, where it won two Tony awards.
The musical takes the format of a spelling bee -- a competition that is a familiar part of the American school experience. The national finals are broadcast on ESPN television, and the competition was the subject of a hit documentary, "Spellbound."
In the original, improvisation-rich musical, characters playing the spelling contestants are joined by four audience members who are the butt of jokes. When competitors request definitions of contest words, as they can do in real spelling bees, the answers yield absurd ad-libs.
In a special adults-only Sunday night performance this month, the first of three such shows, the selection of spelling words was ripe for double-meanings and political incorrectness.
The definition of "Lobbygow" was given as an errand boy in an opium den, and when the speller asked to hear it used in a sentence, the example was a lustful customer's views on what he would like to do to the errand boy.
Asked for the definition of "coenaculum," actor Jay Reiss, who played the role of the school vice principal, said correctly that it was a dining room where the Last Supper was held, but this led to a joke about Jews leaving tips at restaurants.
An alternative definition for "Mexican" -- "an American slang term for anyone from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, any South American country or Spain" -- poked fun at racial stereotyping.
Reiss said the idea for the dirty bee arose from rehearsals when he and others responsible for coming up with spelling words would stray outside the bounds of a family show.
"We heard all the words so many times we got bored," he said in an interview.
Although the plot line remains essentially unchanged, the adult version has some surreal additions, including two people in panda suits who appear during one musical number in a tableau of simulated group sex.
Stone said the audience at the adult show knew what it was in for, as it was well-publicized.
Around 50 people who had bought tickets before the three performances were designated as adults-only had been given the chance to change their tickets, and a few had done so, he said. The next two adult shows are set for February 5 and March 5.
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