The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
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| The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee | ||
| Original Broadway Production | ||
|---|---|---|
 Original Cast Recording |
||
| Music | William Finn | |
| Lyrics | William Finn | |
| Book | Rachel Sheinkin | |
| Theatre | Circle in the Square Theatre | |
| Opened | May 2 2005 | |
| Producer(s) | David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo, Barrington Stage Company, and Second Stage Theatre | |
| Director | James Lapine | |
| Choreographer | Dan Knechtges | |
| Scenic designer | Beowulf Boritt | |
| Costume designer | Jennifer Caprio | |
| Lighting designer | Natasha Katz | |
| Originally starring | Derrick Baskin
Deborah S. Craig Lisa Howard Jay Reiss Sarah Saltzberg |
|
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a musical comedy with music by William Finn centering around a fictional spelling bee in a geographically ambiguous Putnam County. It was workshopped and developed at the Barrington Stage Company in the Berkshires prior to its off-Broadway run at the Second Stage Theatre before transferring to Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre. It was directed by James Lapine.
One unusual aspect of the show is that real audience members are invited to compete in the spelling bee alongside the performers. In each performance, four audience members compete against six actors. During the 2005 Tony Awards, former Presidential candidate Al Sharpton had a cameo as one of the competitors. Another unusual aspect of the show is its periodic "Parent-Teacher Conferences," also known as "adult night at the Bee," in which audience members must be over 17 to attend. These performances are peppered with sexual references and cursing, and grew from R-rated ad-libs made during rehearsals. Another amusing aspect of the show is that the official pronouncer provides ridiculous usage examples when asked to use words in a sentence. For instance, for the word "palaestra," he said, "Euripedes said, 'What happens at the palaestra stays at the palaestra.'"
The musical was based upon C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, an original play by The Farm, a New-York-based improvisational comedy troupe. Sarah Saltzberg, Wendy Wasserstein's weekend nanny, was in the original production, and Wasserstein recommended that Finn see the show. Finn brought Shenkin on board and the improv show became a scripted musical. Dan Fogler, Rebecca Feldman, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg were the only cast members that remained from C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E. Robb Sapp (later replaced by Jose Llana), Dashiell Eaves (replaced by Derrick Baskin), Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Celia Keenan-Bolger (who joined the cast as Olive Ostrovsky in the summer to replace Rebecca Feldman's character of Beth Margolies in the workshop), Lisa Howard, and Deborah Craig were added to the cast and a full script was created. Dana I. Harrel served as the Producer of Stage II and oversaw both productions. Michael Barakiva and Rebecca Feldman directed the workshop, and Michael Unger and Rebecca Feldman directed the summer production. Dan Knechtges choreographed both the workshop and summer.
There are currently two other productions of the musical in addition to the New York production running in the United States: Chicago and National Tour. The Chicago production began performances on March 28, 2006 at the Drury Lane Theatre – Water Tower Place. The production went on hiatus March 25, 2007, and will resume performances beginning April 18, 2007. The National Tour began in Baltimore, Maryland at the Hippodrome Theatre on September 19, 2006 and is currently touring many cities across the U.S.
There were two additional sit-down productions of the musical which are no longer running: San Francisco and Boston. The San Francisco production opened on March 1, 2006 at the Post Street Theatre and closed on September 3, 2006. The Boston production opened at the Wilbur Theatre on September 26, 2006 and ran until December 31, 2006.
The first production outside the United States was at the Melbourne Theatre Company in Melbourne, Australia in January 2006. It starred Marina Prior as Rona Lisa Peretti, David Campbell as Chip Tolentino, and Magda Szubanski as William Barfee.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
[edit] The Spellers
- Olive Ostrovsky: A young newcomer to the competitive spelling word. Her mother is in an ashram in India and her father is working late, as usual, but he is trying to come at some time during the bee. She made friends with her dictionary at a very young age, helping her make it to the Putnam County Spelling Bee.
- William Barfée: A Putnam County Spelling Bee finalist last year, but eliminated because of an allergic reaction to peanut brownies. His famous “Magic Foot” method of spelling had boosted him to spelling glory, even though he only has one working nostril, a touchy personality, a severe peanut allergy, and the mistaken belief that he looks good in shorts (not to mention an often mispronounced last name; it's Bar-fay, not Bar-fee). He has a teeny weeny crush on Olive.
- Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre: Logainne is the youngest and most politically aware speller, with two stage dads who would make Mamma Rose blush. Perhaps the most rabid competitor of the bunch.
- Marcy Park: A recent transfer from Virginia, Marcy placed 9th in last year’s nationals. She speaks six languages, is a member of all-American hockey, a championship rugby player, plays Chopin and Mozart on multiple instruments, sleeps only three hours a night, hides in the bathroom cabinet, and is getting very tired of always winning. She is the poster child for the Over-Achieving Asian.
- Leaf Coneybear: The second runner-up in his district (the winner and first runner-up had to go to the first runner-up's Bat Mitzvah), Leaf comes from a large family of former hippies and makes his own clothes. He’s not really that smart, but his heart is in the right place and he has a unique talent for pulling obscure words out of the air. All of the children in his family are named after plants, including his sister Marigold who an audience member ends up being. Most of his words are South-American rodents some with quite amusing names.
- Chip Tolentino (Isaac "Chip" Berkowitz in the Chicago production): Champion of the 24th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He returns to defend his title, but he finds puberty hitting at the most inopportune moments.
- Three or four spellers from the audience
[edit] The Adults
- Rona Lisa Peretti: The #1 Realtor in Putnam County, a former Putnam County Spelling Bee Champ (at the 3rd annual Bee) and returning moderator. Sweet but stern. She won the original spelling bee by spelling syzygy
- Vice Principal Douglas Panch: After five years' absence from the Bee, Veep Panch is back as word pronouncer and judge. The “incident” of the 20th annual Bee is almost totally forgotten, and he’s in a much better place now, thanks to a high-fiber diet and Jungian analysis. Because he calls William Barfée "William Barfy", he is often called "Doug". He is infatuated with Rona Lisa Peretti, but she does not return the favor.
- Mitch Mahoney: The Official Comfort Counselor. Mitch is performing his community service with the Bee, and he might find he has a knack for hugs and handing out juice boxes.
[edit] The Parents and Others
- Carl Grubenierre: One of Schwartzandgrubenierre’s dads, he’s set on his heart on his little girl winning the bee, no matter what he has to do. Tries to sabotage William’s foot. Played by the actor who plays Leaf.
- Dan Schwartz: One of Schwartzandgrubenierre’s dads, he’s slightly less insane than Carl but still intent on getting his baby the gold. Played by the actor who plays Mitch.
- Leaf’s Mom: Overprotective and doubtful of her son’s abilities to stand up to the competition. Played by the actress who plays Logainne.
- Leaf’s siblings, Marigold, Brooke, Pinecone, Landscape, Raisin, and Paul: Not very confident of Leaf’s abilities. Played by the actors who play Olive, Marcy, Chip and the volunteer spellers.
- Olive’s Mom and Dad: She’s in India, he’s working late, but they appear in Olive’s imagination to encourage her and tell her they love her. Played by the actors who play Miss Peretti and Mitch.
- Jesus: Appears to Marcy in a moment of crisis. Played by the actor who plays Chip.
[edit] Tony Awards
It earned six Tony Award nominations, winning two.
- Best Score (William Finn)
- Best Book (Rachel Sheinkin) WINNER
- Best Direction (James Lapine)
- Best Featured Actor (Dan Fogler) WINNER
- Best Featured Actress (Celia Keenan-Bolger)
- Best Musical
[edit] Broadway Production
[edit] Current Broadway Cast (2007)
in alphabetical order:
- Derrick Baskin as Mitch Mahoney
- Deborah S. Craig as Marcy Park
- Barrett Foa as Leaf Coneybear
- Jared Gertner as William Barfee
- Lisa Howard as Rona Lisa Peretti
- Jose Llana as Chip Tolentino
- Sarah Saltzberg as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre
- Greg Stuhr as Douglas Panch
- Jessica-Snow Wilson as Olive Ostrovsky
Understudies: For Douglas Panch, Leaf Coneybear, Mitch Mahoney, William Barfee - Todd Buonopane. For Mitch Mahoney, Chip Tolentino, Douglas Panch - Maurice Murphy. For Marcy Park, Olive Ostrovsky, Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre - Jacqui Polk. For Olive Ostrovsky, Marcy Park, Rona Lisa Peretti - Catherine Basile.
[edit] Original Broadway Cast (2005)
in alphabetical order:
- 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
Understudies: For Douglas Panch, Leaf Coneybear, Mitch Mahoney, William Barfee - Todd Buonopane. For Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, Marcy Park, Olive Ostrovsky - Kate Wetherhead. For Chip Tolentino, Douglas Panch, Mitch Mahoney - Willis White. For Marcy Park, Olive Ostrovsky, Rona Lisa Peretti - Lisa Yuen.
[edit] Broadway Cast Replacement History
- Greg Stuhr replaced Jay Reiss as Vice Principal Panch on October ?, 2005.
- Josh Gad replaced Dan Folger as William Barfee on January ?, 2006.
- Barrett Foa replaced Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Leaf Coneybear on July 11, 2006.
- Jessica-Snow Wilson replaced Celia Keenan-Bolger as Olive Ostrovsky on September ?, 2006.
- Jared Gertner replaced Josh Gad as William Barfee on January 30, 2007.
- Aaron J. Albano will replace Jose Llana as Chip Tolentino on April 17, 2007.
- Stanley Bahorek will replace Barrett Foa as Leaf Coneybear on April 17, 2007.
- Jenni Barber will replace Jessica-Snow Wilson as Olive Ostrovsky on April 17, 2007.
- Sarah Inbar will replace Sarah Saltzberg as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre on April 17, 2007.
- James Monroe Inglehart will replace Derrick Baskin as Mitch Mahoney on April 17, 2007.
- Greta Lee will replace Deborah S. Craig as Marcy Park on April 17, 2007.
- Mo Rocca will replace Greg Stuhr as Vice Principal Panch on April 17, 2007.
- Jennifer Simard will replace Lisa Howard as Rona Lisa Perreti on April 17, 2007.
[edit] Boston/San Francisco Production
In 2006, two sit down productions of Spelling Bee were staged - first in San Francisco, then in Boston. The San Francisco production opened on March 1, 2006 at the Post Street Theatre and closed on September 3, 2006. The Boston production opened at the Wilbur Theatre on September 26, 2006 and ran until December 31, 2006.
San Fransisco/Boston Cast*
- James Monroe Iglehart as Mitch Mahoney
- Greta Lee as Marcy Park
- Stanley Bahorek as Leaf Coneybear
- Jared Gertner as William Barfee
- Betsy Wolfe as Rona Lisa Peretti
- Jenni Barber as Olive Ostrovsky
- Aaron J. Albano as Chip Tolentino
- Jim Cashman as Vice Principal Panch (San Fransisco Cast Only)
- Daniel Pearce as Vice Principal Panch (Boston Cast Only)
- Sara Inbar as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre
Understudies: For Vice Principal Panch, Leaf Coneybear, William Barfee - Matt Wilson. For Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, Marcy Park, Olive Ostrovsky - Michelle Noh (San Fransisco)/Veronica Reyes (Boston). For Chip Tolentino, William Barfee, Mitch Mahoney - Evan D'Angeles. For Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, Olive Ostrovsky, Rona Lisa Peretti - Elsa Carmona.
*The San Francisco and Boston casts were identical, with the exception of Daniel Pearce replacing Jim Cashman as Vice Principal Panch, and Veronica Reyes replacing Michelle Noh as an understudy for Marcy, Logainne, and Olive.
[edit] Chicago Production
[edit] Current Chicago Cast (2007)
- James Earl Jones II as Mitch Mahoney
- Jen Sese as Marcy Park
- Derrick Trumbly as Leaf Coneybear
- Eric Roediger as William Barfee
- Roberta Duchak as Rona Lisa Peretti
- Cristen Paige as Olive Ostrovsky
- Brad Weinstock as Isaac "Chip" Berkowitz
- Gregory Mills as Douglas Panch
- Christine Werny as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre
Understudies: For Olive Ostrovsky, Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre - Robin Alexis Childress. For Rona Lisa Peretti, Marcy Park - Christine Bunuan. For William Barfee, Leaf Coneybear, Douglas Panch - Jeffrey James Binney. For Isaac "Chip" Berkowitz, Mitch Mahoney - Julius Thomas III.
[edit] Original Chicago Cast (2006)
- James Earl Jones II as Mitch Mahoney
- Jen Sese as Marcy Park
- Derrick Trumbly as Leaf Coneybear
- Eric Roediger as William Barfee
- Lucia Spina as Rona Lisa Peretti
- Cristen Paige as Olive Ostrovsky
- Brad Weinstock as Isaac "Chip" Berkowitz*
- Bill Larkin as Douglas Panch
- Christine Werny as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre
Understudies: For Olive Ostrovsky, Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre - Robin Alexis Childress. For Rona Lisa Peretti, Marcy Park - Christine Bunuan. For William Barfee, Leaf Coneybear, Douglas Panch - George Andrew Wolf. For Isaac "Chip" Berkowitz, Mitch Mahoney - Julius Thomas III.
*The character of Chip Tolentino was renamed Isaac "Chip" Berkowitz for the Chicago production.
[edit] National Touring Production
[edit] Original National Tour Cast
- Alan H. Green as Mitch Mahoney
- Katie Boren as Marcy Park
- Michael Zahler as Leaf Coneybear
- Eric Petersen as William Barfee
- Jennifer Simard as Rona Lisa Peretti
- Lauren Worsham as Olive Ostrovsky
- Miguel Cervantes as Chip Tolentino
- James Kall as Douglas Panch
- Sarah Stiles as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre
Understudies: For Marcy Park, Rona Lisa Peretti - Angelica-Lee Aspiras. For William Barfee, Mitch Mahoney, Douglas Panch - Andrew Kober. For William Barfee, Leaf Coneybear, Mitch Mahoney, Douglas Panch, Chip Tolentino - Chuck Rea. For Olive Ostrovsky, Marcy Park, Rona Lisa Peretti, Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre - Dana Steingold.
[edit] The U.S. National Tour: Cities
(A strike denotes a city where the tour's performances have ended.)
Baltimore, Maryland - September 19, 2006 - October 1, 2006 - Hippodrome TheatreHartford, Connecticut - October 3, 2006 – October 8, 2006, 2006 - The BushnellCharlotte, North Carolina - October 10, 2006 – October 15, 2006 - Belk TheaterPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania - October 17, 2006 - October 22, 2006 - Merriam TheaterIndianapolis, Indiana - October 24, 2006 – October 29, 2006 - Murat CentrePittsburgh, Pennsylvania - October 31, 2006 – November 5, 2006 - Heinz HallMinneapolis, Minnesota - November 7, 2006- November 12, 2006 - State TheatreCincinnati, Ohio - November 14, 2006 - November 26, 2006 - Aronoff Center For The ArtsDallas, Texas - November 28,2006 - December 3, 2006 - Majestic TheatreSan Diego, California - December 5, 2006 - December 10, 2006 - Civic TheatreReno, Nevada - December 12, 2006 - December 17, 2006 - Pioneer TheatreCosta Mesa, California - December 19, 2006 - December 31, 2006 - Orange County Performing Arts CenterPortland, Oregon - January 2, 2007 - January 7, 2007 - Keller AuditoriumSeattle, Washington - January 9, 2007 – January 14, 2007 - The Paramount TheatreDenver, Colorado - January 16, 2007 - January 28, 2007 - Buell TheatreTempe, Arizona - January 30, 2007 – February 4, 2007 - ASU GammageSan Antonio, Texas - February 6, 2006 – February 11, 2007 - Majestic TheatreBirmingham, Alabama - February 13, 2007 - February 18, 2007 - Civic TheatreLouisville, Kentucky - February 20, 2007 – February 25, 2007 - Kentucky Center for ArtsNewport News, Virginia - March 1, 2007 - March 4, 2007 - Ferguson Center for the Arts Concert HallNashville, Tennessee - March 6, 2007 – March 11, 2007 - Tennessee Performing Arts CenterFt. Lauderdale, Florida - March 13, 2007 - March 25, 2007 - Broward Center- Tampa Bay, Florida - March 27, 2007 – April 1, 2007 - Carol Morsani
- Fort Myers, Florida - April 3, 2007 - April 8, 2007 - Barbara Mann
- Orlando, Florida - April 10, 2007 - April 15, 2007 - Bob Carr Performing Arts Center
- Schenectady, New York - April 17, 2007 - April 22, 2007 - Proctors Theatre
- Columbus, Ohio - April 24, 2007 - April 29, 2007 - Palace Theatre
- Kansas City, Missouri - May 1, 2007 - May 6, 2007 - The Music Hall
- St. Louis, Missouri - May 6, 2007 - May 20, 2007 - Fox Theatre
[edit] Original Broadway Cast Recording
The Grammy-nominated original Broadway cast recording includes:
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
- Spelling Rules/My Favorite Moment of the Bee
- My Friend, the Dictionary
- First Goodbye
- Pandemonium
- I'm Not That Smart
- Second Goodbye
- Magic Foot
- Pandemonium (Reprise)/My Favorite Moment of the Bee (Reprise)
- Why We Like Spelling
- Prayer of the Comfort Counselor
- My Unfortunate Erection (Chip's Lament)
- Woe Is Me
- I'm Not That Smart (Reprise)
- I Speak Six Languages
- I Love You Song
- Woe Is Me (Reprise)
- My Favorite Moment of the Bee (Reprise)/Second
- Finale
- Last Goodbye
[edit] Words used
The following words, both real and made-up, have been reported by audience members to have been used in performances on The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
- Acouchi
- Antediluvian
- Antihistamine
- Astrobleme
- Bat Mitzvah
- Boanthropy
- Broccoli
- Capybara
- Camouflage
- Chimerical
- Chinchilla
- Chromatophore
- Coitus interruptus (adult show)
- Coryza
- Cow
- Crayon
- Crepuscule
- Cystitis
- Dinosaur
- Elanguescence
- Flagellate
- Fudgepacker (Adult Show)
- Gardyloo
- Halitosis
- Hallux
- Hasenpfeffer
- Hospital
- Ilspile
- Indicant
- Kakapo
- Kinnikinnick
- LSD
- Lugubrious
- Mexican
- Miso (adult show)
- Mohel
- Number 36 Shrimp Salad (Adult show)
- Onager (adult show)
- Omphaloskepsis
- Origami (Adult Show)
- Qaimaqam
- Palaver
- Pearl Harbor (Adult Show)
- Phylactery
- Raconteur
- Ramalamadingdong (Adult show)
- Rebus
- Schadenfreude (adult show)
- Schematic
- Segue
- Sluice
- Staphylococcus
- Strabismus
- Syphon
- Syzygy
- Taint (adult show)
- Tilapia
- Telephone
- Tittup
- Vas Deferens (adult show)
- Vug
- Vulpine
- Wevil
- Weltanschauung
- Zoonosis
Audience words:
- Agnate (adult show)
- Apoop
- Balmacaan
- Cenacle
- Cow
- Casserole
- Catarjunes
- This is not a real word and was made up for the show. It does not matter how it is spelled, it will always be correct. It gets a big laugh.
- An old Nantucket whaling term, with one written citation: "The neap tide is upon us. The leviathan nears. Catarjunes."
- Crapaud
- Elephant
- Dengue
- Al Sharpton missed this word at the Tonys.
- Finger (adult show)
- Jihad
- Epicalyx
- Kinnikinnick
- A preparation made from dried leaves, bark, and sometimes tobacco and smoked especially by certain Native American peoples.
- Krizzlemum
- This is not a real word and was made up for the show.
- Mexicans
- Ouabain
- Palaestra
- Pissmire
- Ragsplawger
- Smoogligan
- This is not a real word and was made up for the show.
- Definition is unknown. It is said to be from the 1780s, possibly referring to mutton.
- Pakapoo
- Ahimsa
- Schuss
- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
- Julie Andrews got this word wrong when she was a guest speller on KIDS night on Broadway, 2007
- Badchen
- Xerophthalmiology
- Kinky Friedman misspelled this word during a 2007 performance in San Antonio.[1]
- Valmancat
- This is not a real word and was made up for the show.
- Definition is unknown. It is said to be from the 1850s, referring to a type of animal.
- Vigintillion
- National Spelling Bee Champion Katharine "Kerry" Close missed this word when she was a speller in the show.
- Homunculus
- Zuuzuu
- Wannigan
- No real spelling
- Kumis
- no real spelling
[edit] Trivia
- Katharine "Kerry" Close, the 2006 winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, was invited to be a contestant for one performance of the show. She was the last speller from the audience left. She survived 14 rounds.
- Al Sharpton was invited to be a speller during the show's performance at the Tony Awards.
- All audience volunteers are given buttons that have the Spelling Bee logo and "Finalist" written on them.
- Anyone can sign up to be a volunteer speller - they just need to be at the theatre no later than 20 minutes before curtain
- The sick superintendent that's mentioned at the beginning of the show (Superintendent Spriggs) is actually the superintendent of the Sheffield School District in Massachusetts where The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was developed.
- The character Marcy Park was originally named Gramercy Park (like the neighborhood in NYC) but it was changed to make her more Americanized
[edit] External links
- Official Broadway Website
- Official San Francisco Website
- Official Chicago Website
- www.secondstagetheatre.com
- Review in NYT
- Pre-broadway reviews
- Internet Broadway Database listing
- Dan Fogler and Sarah Saltzberg (original Broadway cast) - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
- William Finn (composer) - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org, December 2006
- Circle in the Square Broadway Theater for Spelling Bee
