The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Recoups Investment

By: Sep. 12, 2005
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After a little more than three months of running at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre, The 25th Annual Putnam County Bee has recouped its investment of $3.5 million dollars.

The hit show, which has been on the boards for 18 weeks, met its investment on September 4th. The musical is currently one of the biggest hits on Broadway, and plays to full (or nearly-full) houses every performance. Last week, Spelling Bee grossed $423,659 at 92.3% capacity. The show is the first musical of the 2004-2005 season to recoup, although producer David Stone saw his Wicked go past the profit line in December 2004. "If you look at things on the same scale, I think Rent and Chicago were a tiny bit faster although they were much larger theatres. And Avenue Q and Urinetown took a little longer — all those shows were I think 3 and a half (million). Wicked and Hairspray and Producers and I'm sure Spamalot are all in the 10 or more months (range)," he stated.

Starring Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Jay Reiss, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jose Llana and Sarah Saltzberg, the show boasts music and lyrics by Finn (Falsettos, A New Brain), and a Tony Award-winning book by Rachel Sheinkin. Conceived by Rebecca Feldman and directed by James Lapine (Sunday in the Park with George, Falsettos), the show (which was nominated for a 2005 Best Musical Tony) has broken all house records at Circle in the Square Theatre (50th St., between Broadway and 8th) and plays to sold-out audiences each week. In addition to Sheinkin, Fogler (who plays William Barfee) received a Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Musical.

In the show, 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. A cast album is available on Ghostlight Records. A special adults-only Spelling Bee performance will be held on Sunday, October 2nd.

Tickets, which range from $25 to $95, are available through Telecharge at 212-239-6200 (or at www.telecharge.com), or at the Circle in the Square box office.

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