All About Musicals

Broadway isn’t just for New York anymore, as can be seen by Chicago’s permanent staging of Wicked. Now The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is following suit, with the original Broadway cast premiering the show in Los Angeles. It begins premieres tonight, May 24 , and officially opens to the public on May 27. The show will continue through June 17.

Much like the film version of the musical Rent, the popular original cast will be reunited in this special four-week run of the show, which depicts “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” (from the official Web site).

If you’re a lucky audience member, you may even get to participate in the spelling bee! The show features ten contestants: the six actors PLUS four audience members — maybe you’ll be a contestant!

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will have a special limited engagement: a four-week run at California’s Wadsworth Theatre, located on the Veteran Administration Grounds in Brentwood. It begins previews on May 24, and opens for regular audiences on May 27. It will play through June 17. It is being presented by Broadway/L.A.

Interestingly enough, Spelling Bee is based on the play C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, the creation of by Rebecca Feldman.

The musical, which features the direction of James Lapine (Into the Woods), received six Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical; it won for Best Featured Actor (Fogler) and Best Book.

The complete Los Angeles cast, who are reprising their roles in the original Broadway company and the show’s off-Broadway run at Second Stage, is listed below:

Derrick Baskin as Mitch Mahoney
Deborah S. Craig as Marcy Park
Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Leaf Coneybear
Dan Fogler as William Barfee
Lisa Howard as Rona Lisa Peretti
Celia Keenan-Bolger as Olive Ostrovsky
Jose Llana as Chip Tolentino
Jay Reiss as Douglas Panch
Sarah Saltzberg as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre

Technorati Tags: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Broadway, Broadway Musicals, Musicals, Musical Theatre, Musical Theater, Broadway Musical