Parker’s rendition of the 2005 one-act musical “The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee,” which ran Wednesday to Saturday, was hilarious.

The script itself is full of wit–upon which the actors were able not just to capitalize, but to perform with superb comedic timing. Directed by Leslie Holland Pryor, music-directed by Sunnie Hikawa, designed by Nick Rupard, and choreographed by Alejandra Gonzalez, with help from Holland Pryor, the fall musical, or “Fallsical,” made me cry laughing.

The musical opened on a beautiful student-made set of the underground gym in which the Bee is held. In the center of the stage were shiny black bleachers on which the Spelling Bee’s contestants sat and waited for their next word, and at the right of the stage a booth for the two organizers of the Bee, as played by the talented junior Kaden Florsheim and senior Kelsey Vasquez. At the left of the stage was a 1950s-style microphone. On this one set the entire musical was played out. And not only was there just one set, but in effect, only one scene. And it worked. Each aspect of the play flowed perfectly and seamlessly into the next, leaving me laughing the entire way.

A good musical has songs that advance the storyline, and the songs in this show did just that. Although the harmony in some of the pieces could have used a little more fine tuning and perfecting, the manner in which they were sung, with a level of whole-hearted commitment, each performer singing out excitedly, made each number totally entertaining. Whenever a speller missed a word, the cast sang a funny, faux-tragic “Goodbye.”  The more solo-driven numbers “Magic Foot” and “Six Languages” shaped the tone of the musical: comedic and reflective.

Each character had a backstory that revealed herself or himself to the audience by way of song. Junior Caitlin Landau did a great job expressing her character’s relationship with her dad in her solo, and so did junior Natalia Hernandez in bringing the audience to understand the pressure she was under from both of her moms to win the Bee. Natalia stayed true to her character the entire show, with an impressive mimicking of a braces-induced lisp and an outgoing attitude.

A musical comedy such as “The 25th Annual Spelling Bee” calls for all of the actors to really commit to their characters. And this cast really did. Sophomore Carlos Lopez did a great job getting totally into his role. He was not afraid to assume the stage and to–for a number or two–become the star of the show. Unlike most musicals, “The 25th Annual Spelling Bee” is not focused on one main character. Instead, each character has some shining moment in the musical, and Vasquez, Hernandez, Landau, Lopez, and Florsheim; as well as seniors Martha Slaymaker, Rowan Gledhill, and Tony Lopez; sophomores Sesash Gutierrez and Alex Loma; and freshman Tandi Weeks all did a wonderful job.

Clearly the members of the Stagecraft class, under Rupard’s direction, put in substantial talent and energy.  Seniors Michael Daalder, Jordan Merrick, and Ricardo Rodriguez; junior Nina Bernhardt; and sophomores Aidan Brown, Evan Fischer, William Holtz, and Zennia Lynch did strong behind-the-scenes work.

At the beginning of the musical, the prompter of the Spelling Bee, as played by Vasquez, calls up members of the audience to participate and try their hand at spelling. This audience participation added to the humor of the piece and was played out hilariously in both chances that I got to see the musical. “The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee” was a show to be seen–I hope you caught it.