Life on the road leads actress to 'Putnam County'

Roberta Duchak grew up in Darien, lives in Sugar Grove, but spends most of her time these days crisscrossing the country appearing in touring versions of Broadway shows.

She has performed in touring productions of "Showboat," "Scrooge," "Ragtime" and, most recently, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." She is reprising her role in "Spelling Bee" at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, which opened in previews Wednesday.

"I play Rona Lisa Peretti," Duchak says. "She is the hostess of the bee. I love the character; she is a mixture of my mother and my sister. She is a spitfire and a social queen - she knows everybody - and she is a former champion herself. This will be my third time in this role. I played her at Drury Lane Water Tower and I played her on the national tour."

The funny thing is that Duchak didn't start out wanting to work in theater. She studied broadcast journalism at Indiana University and had planned to work in that field.

While she was looking for work in the media, she auditioned for a musical called "The Robber Bridegroom" opening at the old Candlelight Dinner Theater. "I got the lead," Duchak says. "And that was the end of that."

Duchak may not have planned on a life in the theater, but it was certainly a major sideline for her. "While at Indiana University I studied piano and voice," Duchak says. "I was in all the plays."

She seemed destined to be "in all the plays" in Chicago, too, appearing in numerous local productions before she was snapped up to appear in the touring production of "Showboat" and her life on the road began.

"Ragtime," "Scrooge" and "Spelling Bee" followed.

"It is so much fun doing 'Spelling Bee,'" Duchak says. "We find that the different regions of the country are better spellers than others."

Chicagoans, she adds, "are definitely the best spellers and wittiest."

"What is so great about this show," Duchak says, "is we have volunteer spellers from the audience. So every show is very different. There is an improv factor that keeps the show fresh."

It also helps that, at least this time, Duchak has the luxury of being able to commute to work.

While Duchak was on tour with "Spelling Bee" she flew back to Chicago every Monday to teach voice at Columbia College in downtown Chicago. "That was a real commute," Duchak says. "I would fly home, teach my students and then fly back to my company wherever they were performing."

Duchak goes where the work is. "But the older I get," she says, "the more I want to travel less and less."

• The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is currently in previews and opens Wednesday May 20. The show runs through July 19 at the Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. For tickets call the Marriott Theatre Box Office at (847) 634-0200 or visit www.marriotttheatre.com.