The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
August 6 – 29, 2010
RLT Sutton Main Stage Theatre
Music and Lyrics by William Finn
Book by Rachel Sheinkin
Conceived by Rebecca Feldman
Additional Materials by Jay Reiss
Originally produced on Broadway by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo
Barrington Stage Company, Second Stage Theatre
Today’s lesson: winning isn’t everything and losing doesn’t necessarily make you a loser. The word for this show, direct from Broadway, is W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L. Six young people in the throes of puberty compete for the title of Spelling Champion of Putnam County Middle School: the painfully shy Olive Ostrovsky, whose mother has abandoned her to join an ashram in India; William Barfée, the sinus-challenged former finalist with a most unusual spelling technique; Logainne Schwarzandgrubenierre, a politically aware speller with two gay dads and a lisp; Leaf Coneybear, the second runner up to the bee who is constantly told by his family that he is “not that smart;” Chip Tolentino, a boy scout at the mercy of his unfortunately timed hormones; and Marcy Park, a classic Type-A personality who learns that it is ok not to be the best at everything. For each performance four audience volunteers will be recruited to participate on-stage as guest spellers. Winner of two 2005 Tony Awards, including Best Book of a Musical.
View the photos by Stuart Wagner.
Cast
In order of appearance:
- Rona Lisa Perretti: Carly Prentis Jones
- Chip Tolentino: Jon Karnofsky
- Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere: Adrienne Morton
- Leaf Coneybear: Jon Todd
- William Barfée: Jeffrey Vizcaino
- Marcy Park: Aurelia Belfield
- Olive Ostrovsky: Mary Reilly
- Douglas Panch: Jason Matthews
- Mitch Mahoney: David Adams
Production Team
- Director: Rod Rich
- Musical Director: Coty Cockrell
- Choreographer / Props Master: Nancy Rich
- Costume Designer: Vicki Olson
- Lighting Designer: Cailen Waddell
- Sound Designer / Sound Engineer: Todd Houseknecht
- Technical Director: Jim Zervas
- Stage Manager: Anna Rains