She’s a character who needs a lot of contrast to fuel the conflict, and little surfaces. Larabee, Johannah Easley’s Akeelah never gives a taste of the fiery mood swings hinted at in the script, the ones that give her the reputation of being a girl with an attitude. Williams creates a memorable figure in Dr. (Left unsaid is that big challenges can be merely smaller challenges strung together.) Oh, there are moments with tremendous potential, primarily in the developing relationship between Akeelah and the mentor who guides her from one spelling bee to another, a stern Northwestern University professor who helps her get in touch with her roots - the Latin and Greek ones, that is, which help you figure out that big words are just little words strung together. There are some outstanding actors in this production, but there’s only so much they can do with these cardboard cutout characters. They too often fall within the rigid parameters that Hollywood has placed around character types, seldom allowing any room for growth or surprises. What could be an inspirational story about cultivating a love of learning is instead full of characters lacking depth and dimension. When 11-year-old Akeelah finds out that she’s the best speller in her Chicago school, she’s presented with the chance to ride her love of language from a gunfire-filled life in a rough neighborhood to a national stage, competing with some of the smartest kids in the country.īut, just as Akeelah is tripped up by a lack of support from her mother and the racism and classism that batter her self-image along the way, so is the cast forced to confront the challenges of Cheryl L. ![]() That much is clear in “Akeelah and the Bee,” Children’s Theatre Company’s new stage adaptation of a 2006 film. ‘Akeelah and the Bee’ teen actors hope to help kids in audience.
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