Letter by letter this 'Bee' weaves its charming spell

If you can spell C-H-A-R-M-I-N-G - and if charm is sufficient - the Philadelphia Theatre Company version of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which opened the company's 35th season Wednesday, will fill your bill.

Staged by Marc Bruni, who has helmed many "Encores!" productions at New York's City Center, this Spelling Bee comes off as if the hugely talented William Finn, who scored it, and Rachel Sheinkin, who wrote the book, created it for charm alone. But I'm not sure that's enough.

The show, about a group of kids (and some audience members) trying to validate their lives though perfect spelling, has the potential to be anything from just a theatrical spelling contest to an all-out romp, and of the four productions I've seen, Bruni's comes closest to a subdued interpretation that takes the whole affair at face value.

For me, that's not the most satisfying Spelling Bee. At its edgiest, the show reveals a teenage angst not unlike adult angst, and its little ironies give it a richer flavor when its characters border on caricature. Bruni's is a Spelling Bee whose revelations come and go not so much from character building but because musical numbers contain those epiphanies. The no-intermission production's rhythm: Keep it moving, keep it sweet.

It's a good bet that this more restrained interpretation - a Spelling Bee with the rich ingredients but not necessarily all the spice - will be thoroughly satisfying to people who've never before seen the quirky show. Another solid wager: Many will be seeing it for the first time, because there's probably not a lot of crossover with smaller professional stages producing it outside Center City.

Spelling Bee, one of those warm, smart shows that define why people like musicals and the theater in general, has a half-life in this region that rivals whatever you might find at the Limerick nuclear power plant. The national tour swept through for a week in 2006, but this has been its big year here.

Media Theatre staged it in March, followed a month later by Souderton's Montgomery Theater, then in September by Theatre Horizon in Norristown. It's as popular as Romeo and Juliet, but without the suicides.

In fact, Spelling Bee is much more like Hair, its antithesis in all but one major aspect: Both musicals have loose scripts and each new production fills in the blanks. That's why I heard new spelling challenges at Philadelphia Theatre Company, and original one-line zingers - some local, many very funny.

The cast is excellent, especially in voice, which speaks to the production's treatment of Spelling Bee as music with ideas rather than ideas with music. The single actor who builds a clear character immediately and keeps layering is Olivia Oguma as an accomplished perfectionist.

The other youngsters are played by Will Blum as a social outcast, Ali Stroker as a neglected kid, Lyle Colby Mackston as a clueless one, Ephie Aardema as a girl pushed to win, and Brandon Yanez as a boy grappling with hormones. Marla Mindelle, Jerold E. Solomon, and David Volin play the adults. They all bloom nicely, if not fulgently - but then, this Spelling Bee is lit by a steady beam. I wish it were more about flash.

Presented by Philadelphia Theatre Company at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Broad and Lombard Streets. Through Dec. 12. Tickets: $48-$69. Information: 215-985-0420 or www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.orgEndText