“IT’S SPELLED W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L”
– Wall Street Journal
January 10, 2012
THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE explodes into the Lake Worth Playhouse as a quirky, offbeat, improvisational musical comedy unique to anything you have seen before. It will steal your breath and your heart from their first musical note!
Reviews:
“Funniest thing on seven consonants” – Washington Post
“It’s spelled W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L” – Wall Street Journal
“Quirky ‘Spelling Bee’: In a word, charming” – USA Today
“A sleeper hit…an utterly charming look at one of the screwier manifestations of the American Dream” –TIME
“The modest Off-Broadway musical about a spelling bee is the very definition of easygoing charm” –The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Can you spell…irresistible? Yea or nay, that’s precisely the word for ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spell Bee,’ the loveably inconsequential, entirely adorable new musical” –The New York Times
Synopsis:
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.
Audience Participants:
Before every performance of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, four audience volunteers are recruited to participate on-stage as guest spellers. Each new foursome guarantees a new set of hilarious and unexpected experiences – one night is just as unique as the one before it. The willing contestants are chosen through a careful vetting process, utilizing pre-show lobby interviews and audience questionnaires.
Awards:
Tony Award – Best Book of a Musical
Tony Award – Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Drama Desk Award – Outstanding Book of a Musical
Drama Desk Award – Outstanding Director of a Musical
Drama Desk Award – Outstanding Ensemble Performance
Lucille Lortel Award – Outstanding Musical
Lucille Lortel Award – Outstanding Featured Actor
History:
THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE started as a non-musical play entitled C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, done by the improvisational group “The Farm.” One of the performers in the play, Sarah Saltzberg, happened to be the nanny of playwright Wendy Wasserstein (The Heidi Chronicles). Wasserstein was impressed by what she saw and suggested to friend William Finn (MAKE ME A SONG) that he may be able to take the show to the next level. Finn, his former student Rachel Sheinkin, and C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E creator Rebecca Feldman worked together to turn the piece into a full-length musical.
In the winter of 2004, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE had a workshop at Barrington Stage Company in Sheffield, Massachusetts. The following summer, the show had its first full production, in a cafeteria turned theatre.
From there, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE moved to Off-Broadway’s Second Stage Theatre, where it quickly sold out its original stay and was extended due to glowing reviews and powerful word of mouth. The show broke box office records at Second Stage and moved to Broadway’s Circle in the Square on April 15, 2005 with an official opening on May 2nd. The show again received rave reviews and won two 2005 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Featured Actor.
Schedule
· Preview Night is Thursday, January 19 at 8:00 p.m. ($23 & $27)
· Opening Night is Friday, January 20 at 8:00 p.m. ($28 & $32 – includes Opening Night Gala)
· Evening Performances are on January 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, February 2, 3 and 4 at 8:00 p.m. ($26 & $30)
· Matinee Performances are on January 21, 22, 28, 29, February 4 and 5 at 2:00 p.m. ($26 & $30)
· Dinner & Show Night is January 19 and includes a 6:00 p.m. pre-show dinner at Fiorentina, a contemporary Italian restaurant in downtown Lake Worth, prior to the 8:00 p.m. performance. The all-inclusive dinner/show package price is $50 and includes a three-course meal and premium seats for the preview performance.
Tickets can be purchased through the Lake Worth Playhouse Box Office at 561-586-6410 or online at lakeworthplayhouse.org.
Location
Lake Worth Playhouse is located at 713 Lake Ave in Downtown Lake Worth. Valet Parking is available for $5. Street and lot parking is also available.
ABOUT LAKE WORTH PLAYHOUSE
Lake Worth Playhouse is a non-profit community theatre with a diverse array of offerings, including award-winning dramas, comedies, musicals, area premieres, Broadway favorites, children’s shows, ballets and operas on film, live concerts, improv comedy and alternative programming. In addition to its main stage theatrical fare, the Playhouse presents year-round independent and foreign films in the Stonzek Theatre, an intimate black-box style theatre equipped with a large viewing screen and high-definition projection. The Playhouse is proud to offer a variety of educational programs for adults and children, as well as community outreach initiatives that bring cultural programs into the neighborhoods of underserved youth and also make theatre available free of charge for disadvantaged citizens in the community.
Contact:
Theresa Loucks
Tel: 561-586-6169 (ext. 216)
E-mail: theresa@lakeworthplayhouse.org