It may be hard to believe, but it’s been a decade since the performing arts troupe, the Sandbox Collective, burst into our local theater scene with Dani Girl. The avowed intent back then was to bring to the stage more avant garde, ground-breaking works; and cater to a younger market, hungry for material that weren’t revivals of mainstream musicals and dramas. I was there when Sandbox unveiled it’s first production, and it was touching to hear guiding light, Toff de Venecia, offer a few words before their new staging of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee got underway.

He recounted the birth pains, how plans were waylaid because of the 2020 health crisis, and how it was so good to find that the Collective was still standing, and entering a new era of Discovery and Collaboration. The collaboration is coming from how this year, ABS’ Star Magic is a partner, lending their talents to better hone their craft on stage, in the hope of reaping benefits as they transition back to TV and streaming channels work.

It was with this partnership in mind, that Star Magic head Lauren Dyogi then ascended the stage to exclaim how excited he was with the association, joking that his only fear would be how some of the Star Magic cast members would shift permanently to theater, even if there’s no money there. Love for the arts can be a costly exercise, the magic created on stage such a beguiling factor.

This year’s iteration of the Spelling Bee (3rd time it’s being staged professionally here in Manila) starts this February 24 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight at the Circuit Makati and runs until March 17. It’s directed by Missy Maramara, with Roni Fortich providing musical direction. I’m not going into detail on the story as you’ve either previously seen the play, or I shouldn’t spoil the pleasure of discovery.

It’s about six major cast members joining a spelling bee contest. And we get the interesting back stories of the six and those of the ones staging the contest. It’s interactive in the sense that four members of the audience on any given night will be asked to join the cast on stage. On the preview night, I watched Jon Santos, Bela Padilla, Enchong Dee, and Darren Espanto called to the stage.

It’s a coming-of-age tale laced with humor and compassion. The trick is to create strong individual personalities for the six, and it’s easy to root for them and find they resonate with us. Missy Maramara has done an excellent job in achieving this. In the past, we often found older stage veterans taking on the roles of these ‘kids,’ which would be part of the fun; it was nice to watch younger, relatively unknowns now stretching to be real live thespians and not just budding stars of mainstream entertainment.

Whether revisiting or watching this for the first time, you will be guaranteed a night of fun and etymological mayhem. As a revival, this doesn’t necessarily classify as ‘groundbreaking,’ but let’s enjoy that the Sandbox Collective lives and should have brighter days and years ahead. Happy 10 years!