25th annual Putnam county spelling bee

Music & Lyrics:  William Finn

Book:  Rachel Sheinkin

Conceived:  Rabecca Feldman

Additional Material:  Jay Reiss

About the Show

A delightful musical about a fictional spelling bee at Putnam Valley Middle School.  Quirky teens compete in a spelling bee run by quirky adults; a spoof of spelling bee contests held all over the country.  With audience participation, this one is sure to make you laugh!

Notes from Artistic Director Charles Burr

Our last show of the season is a very recent musical that is literally taking the country by storm.  Everywhere it is produced, audiences are delighted by this funny, tuneful production.  I really can’t improve on the publisher’s description of the show:

“Six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser.  “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ is a hilarious tale of overachievers' angst chronicling the experience of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show's Tony Award winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.”

The original production, written by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin, was nominated for six Tonys and won 2.  In addition, it was nominated for six Drama Desk Awards and won three of those.  “Spelling Bee” started Off-Broadway and transferred to Broadway in 2005 and remained for 1136 performances.

One of the big popularity factors of the show seems to be the high degree of audience participation.  Four volunteers are selected as additional spellers at the top of the evening.  Often local public figures are used.  (On Broadway, Julie Andrews was chosen as a volunteer and missed spelling Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.)  It is truly a different show every night.

presented with the generous support of:

Wal-Mart

Transportation

&

Wal-Mart Distribution

Center