WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 6.30PM THURSDAY 26 FEBRUARY 6.30PM SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY 1.30PM
GILLIAN MOORE CENTRE FOR PERFORMING ARTS
Music and Lyrics by WILLIAM FINN Book by RACHEL SHEINKIN
Conceived by REBECCA FELDMAN
Additional Material by Jay Reiss
Originally Directed on Broadway by James Lapine
Originally produced on Broadway by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo
Barrington Stage Company, Second Stage Theatre
Based upon C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, an original play by The Farm.
Licence Agreement
The Barrington Stage Company workshop of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE was originally co-directed by Michael Barakiva and Rebecca Feldman.
Licensed exclusively by Music Theatre International (Australasia).
All authorised performance materials are also supplied by Music Theatre International (Australasia). www.mtishows.com.au
The Farm was founded in 2000 by Rebecca Feldman, Artistic Director. It is a collective of writers and performers, including Jay Reiss, Dan Fogler, and Sarah Saltzberg. The Farm’s interest is in the role of improvisation in creating new work for the theatre. The Farm initially designates a two-week intensive period in which to discover, develop, and rehearse a play from the impulses borne mainly out of the pressure of a deadline. Previous projects include “Super” (at Atlantic Theatre Studios), “Why I Hate Florida” (workshop at White Wave in DUMBO) and “C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E” (at the Present Company Theatorium in October 2002), on which “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is based. The character and original dialogue of “Beth Marguiles,” “Vice President Douglas Panch,” “Mr. Barfee,” and “Logan Schwarzengrubenierre” were created by Rebecca Feldman, Jay Reiss, Dan Fogler, and Sarah Saltzberg, respectively.
More than a Bee...
The musical began life as an improvisational comedy called C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, created by Rebecca Feldman and performed by the New York improv troupe The Farm. The piece followed a group of eccentric children competing in a spelling bee and included audience members as participants, a device that would later become central to the musical. After the show caught the attention of playwright Wendy Wasserstein, composer and lyricist William Finn was encouraged to explore developing the concept into a musical. Finn collaborated with book writer Rachel Sheinkin, a former student, and Feldman to shape the improvised material into a fully realised work, retaining its spontaneity while deepening its emotional storytelling.
After workshops, including time at Barrington Stage Company in Massachusetts, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee premiered Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre in early 2005. The production quickly became a critical and commercial success, prompting a transfer to Broadway later that year. The show officially opened at Circle in the Square Theatre on May 2, 2005, directed by James Lapine, and went on to run for more than 1,100 performances.
The production was widely acclaimed and received six Tony Award nominations in 2005, winning two awards: Best Book of a Musical and Best Featured Actor in a Musical. The original Broadway cast included performers such as Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jose Llana, and Deborah S. Craig, many of whom went on to successful careers across theatre, television, and film.
The show has enjoyed lasting international success, with productions staged around the world. In Australia, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has been particularly popular. A celebrated Melbourne Theatre Company production premiered in 2006, starring Marina Prior, David Campbell, and Magda Szubanski, and won the Helpmann Award for Best Musical. The production later transferred to Sydney and helped cement the show’s reputation with Australian audiences, leading to numerous professional, independent, and educational productions across the country.
In recent years, the musical has continued to delight audiences through Off-Broadway revivals celebrating its enduring appeal. These productions maintain the show’s signature audience participation, inviting selected audience members to join the spelling bee onstage each night. This tradition, rooted in the show’s improvisational origins, has occasionally seen well-known figures from the worlds of theatre, film, and television participate as guest spellers, adding to the excitement and unpredictability of live performance.
More than two decades after its Broadway debut, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee remains a joyful reminder that winning isn’t everything, growing up is awkward, and everyone has a story worth spelling out loud. Its combination of humour, heartfelt moments, and audience interaction continues to charm audiences of all ages, making each performance a unique experience. The show celebrates resilience, friendship, and the courage to embrace one’s quirks, leaving audiences laughing, reflecting, and cheering for every contestant, whether on stage or in the crowd.
KURT SCHWEINBERGER Director of Co-Curricular Performing Arts - Strategy and Operations
Director Notes
SALLY DASHWOOD
Spelling Bee is, first and foremost, an acting piece, and a tricky one at that. The text is as wordy as a dictionary, which I am certain was an intentional choice on the behalf of the writers, and the pace in the scenes is driven by the actors themselves. It is a challenging piece and our cast of talented triple threats have taken it in their stride.
Unlike the words that the contestants are asked to spell, the characters are familiar and relatable. They discover things about themselves when placed in the pressure cooker of competition, at a raw time in their lives when things are changing: opinions, circumstances, body parts… We learn that when things start to unravel, a real human exists below the surface. A person who reacts, a person who makes mistakes, a person who feels, a person who doesn’t. Through the journey of these elementary school characters we get to discover something about ourselves along the way. Who are we once the glitter and promise rubs off and we’re left, standing alone, in the middle of the stage, not knowing what is going to be thrown our way?
Spelling Bee is not the usual block buster style of a Pymble musical with big, moving sets and dance breaks for days. Having choreographed three of those I am honoured that Kurt Schweinberger passed the baton (and a script and a megaphone) and trusted me with the directing job.
It has been a B-E-A-UTIFUL time working intensely with the company to bring the spellers to life. A big thank you to our choreographer Genevieve Gardener for leading and inspiring the cast, music director Patrice Goodman, Sarah Turner and my wonderful right hand (and alumnus) Millie Seeto for building this production with me, block by block. I hope you enjoy the show as much as I have enjoyed the process.
MUSICAL NUMBERS
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – Company
The Spelling Rules – Vice Principal Panch, Rona Lisa Peretti & Company
My Friend, the Dictionary – Olive Ostrovsky & Company
Pandemonium – Company
I’m Not That Smart – Leaf Coneybear
Magic Foot – William Barfee & Company
Pandemonium (Reprise) / My Favorite Moment of the Bee 2 – Company
Prayer of the Comfort Counselor – Mitch Mahoney & Company
Chip’s Lament – Chip Tolentino
Woe Is Me – Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere & Company
Spelling Montage – Vice Principal Panch & Company
I’m Not That Smart (Reprise) – Leaf Coneybear & Company
I Speak Six Languages – Marcy Park & Girls
Jesus – Marcy Park & Ensemble
The I Love You Song – Olive Ostrovsky & Parents
Woe Is Me (Reprise) – Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere & Company
My Favorite Moment of the Bee 3 / Second –
Vice Principal Panch, Olive Ostrovsky, William Barfee & Company
Weltanschauung - Company
Olive & Barfee Pas de Deux - Olive Ostrovsky, William Barfée & Company
Epilogues - Vice Principal Panch, Rona Lisa Peretti, Mitch Mahoney & Spellers
Mic Technicians: Natalie Cerreto, Sienna Pansini Martin
Follow Spot Operators: Alia Curren, Harriett Lewis, Anaïs Vander
Costume Suppliers/ The Wardrobe: James Warner, Metropolitan Players Inc.
Drapes: The Look Theatrical Drape Hire
Set Construction: Peter Ellis and the TAS Department
Stage Crew: Livia Armstrong, Siena Parsons, Amelia Hartcliff
Photography: Grant Leslie
All the parents, friends, families and staff who have provided tremendous support and additional assistance with catering, hair, makeup, supervision, costume laundry, set construction and general logistics! We couldn’t do it without you!
