Akeelah and the Bee adapted by Cheryl L. West
a critique by Korinn Annette Jefferies, korinnannette.com
I regularly teach an adaptation class for kids grades 1-5 called ‘Adaptation Station.’ we start with a picture book and identify the essential parts of the story using a plot mountain. the kids are tasked with determining the intro/exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and the resolution.
in the case of ‘Akeelah and the Bee,’ the plot is fairly concise: Akeelah’s life is hard, she prepares for a spelling bee, she is victorious, she returns to her family and friends as a hero who has overcome her circumstances. it’s straightforward and to the point.
in my process with my students, we initiate the adaptation process with the bare bones of a story and build out a play with consideration of run time, cast or class size, and student engagement (read: who wants a speaking part and follows directions).
the stage play, Akeelah and the Bee by Cheryl L. West has a run time of two hours and a larger than necessary cast. though the play is long, it moves painfully slow with storylines and characters that contribute very little to the plot. in the February 2025 production at Raleigh Little Theatre, many of the actors seemed to be rushing through their lines and blocking making the piece feel wordy. there were moments when it felt like the actors were trying to beat a clock or finish the play by a certain time, rather than living in the world of the play and committing to their characters.
the script needs editing. there are multiple storylines that could be eliminated to make for a clearer, more impactful work. there is a romance between Akeelah’s adult neighbors, scenes that would have been more effective as voiceovers, and characters that only superficially contribute to the story’s progression. there are some things that happen on screen, visually, that just don’t translate to stage and this adaptation does not consider this in a realistic way.
Akeelah and the Bee does not lend itself to a shortened rehearsal process or limited resources. there are many different settings and scene changes and the wordy script leaves little time to focus on diction or authentic movement. to honor this play and this playwright, the script can only be produced at professional theatres and companies with the resources and time to mount this play in the most effective, truthful way.
however, to serve it’s intended audience—the people who are more similar to Akeelah than her spelling bee competitors— the script would have to change.
key takeaways
adaptations should consider the constraints of the theatre
some things are better on screen