Encore Theatre hosts "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"

Of course, even among nerds, solidarity can be limited.

“You take these 6 people in the throes of puberty, and you throw them in this competition, and even geeks will pick on each other among themselves to determine who’s the best of the geeks,” said Cooney. “It’s absurd, but the show’s so touching, so moving. It sounds trite, but it really is about how life’s not about winning or losing, but how you play the game.”

“Spelling Bee,” which built an audience off-Broadway before its 2005 premiere on the Great White Way, focuses on 6 smart, competitive, and eccentric kids who are contestants in a spelling bee, with dreams of competing in the national bee.

And if it seems like several “Spelling Bee” productions are cropping up lately — Dynamic Stage Productions, a new company, staged it at the Riverside Arts Center this past November, and Pioneer High is gearing up for their own “Bee” February 12-21 — it’s partly because the show’s rights only recently became available.

But its popularity also stems from the fact that it’s a musical that can be done with only 9 actors and a small orchestra; it only requires a single set (a school gymnasium); and it’s a comedy that many people haven’t yet gotten to see.

“I think it’s a perfect recipe for a small regional theater, or even a not-so-small regional theater,” said Cooney. “And everyone’s looking for a great comedy. It’s a win-win-win.”

The show, with a Tony Award-winning book by Rachel Sheinkin and music and lyrics by William Finn (“Falsettos”), began as a non-musical improv piece; and because it incorporates a few audience members as participants in the bee at every performance, the show retains at least the spirit of its improv roots.

“That’s what we are dealing with right now,” said Cooney. “Keeping that improvisational feel while blocking the show. It drives me crazy to have to block actors, because what I really want to do is free them. But the fact of the matter is, in order to have show up and running, the actors have to know where they’re going and not run into each other.”

Cooney sees classic comedy archetypes represented in the show. Speller William Barfee, who uses his “magic foot” to spell, brings to mind Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton, while off-the-wall Leaf Coneybear represents the dimwitted clown tradition.

Audience bee participants, meanwhile, strike Cooney as a British, Benny Hill-style gag. “There’s the dignified queen who trips and tumbles down the stairs, and then she goes on and doesn’t acknowledge the mistake,” said Cooney. “She maintains her dignity, and it’s funny, but she’s not telling jokes.”

Although “Bee” focuses on young people, the show isn’t for young kids; and while adults playing children on stage can be a dicey venture, Cooney thinks “Bee” pulls it off because “it makes heroes of these kids. … They want to fit in, but they don’t have the social skills to do so, which makes for great comedy.”

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.