Three-man ‘Putnam County Spelling Bee’ is a heavy lift

‘The Heavyweights’ take on the popular musical comedy with mixed results at Denver Center’s Garner Galleria Theatre

Riffing off the Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) formula, where three actors put on their wacky hats and tackle multiple roles, The Heavyweights version of The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee now playing at the Denver Center’s Garner Galleria Theatre is a mixed bag that mostly ends up empty.

The idea behind The Heavyweights, as explained just after the show by founder Jeremy Geller, is to be a body-positive vehicle for actors on the heavy side. Just because you’re plus-sized, he says, doesn’t mean your awesome singing and acting chops should be left to wither in supporting or stereotyped roles. That’s all true, and the cast is indeed a talented, powerful trio that takes the source material and has a lot of fun with it. Big guys with beards wearing wigs and pink sweaters is pretty funny, and Geller, Jones and Wilcox bring it home with a loving sendup of the beloved musical comedy.

The problem is the show is 90 minutes long, and the gag is exhausted after the first 20 minutes. Much of the same stuff that made the original funny is still in place, like using some real people from the audience and adding adult-themed jokes in the “use it in a sentence” bits. So other than the three-man casting, the only real twist added is the big-guys-as-kids schtick, and it’s just not enough.

This is one of those shows that had me looking at my watch before it was half through. At times during some of the super over-the-top falsetto musical numbers, I found myself fantasizing about a Star Trek-like beam-up to spirit me out of there. My friend accompanying me was similarly unimpressed and remarked that the constant prompts for applause had left his hands worn out.

All that’s not to say the show doesn’t have its moments. These guys are good, and there are plenty of laughs along the way. (Another highlight is piano accompanist Joshua Gregg Fried, who drives the whole show with his powerhouse playing.) The question is whether audience members will have the stamina to go the distance with The Heavyweights in what’s essentially a skit-length idea stuffed into a 90-minute show.