SPELLING BEE Celebrates 100 Chicago Performances

Chicago's company of the new Tony Award-winning Broadway musical comedy The 25th Annual PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE celebrates its 100th performance tonight (Friday, June 23) at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place where it continues its hilarious open-ended run. The production, heralded by audiences and critics alike, started performances on March 28, 2006 and has quickly found its way into the hearts of Chicagoans and its many visitors. Behind-the-scenes the Bee staff and crew are hard at work to ensure every consonant and vowel is in place night after night – with that in mind the company is proud to recognize the following facts and figures.

Reigning Bee champ, Chip Berkowitz has tossed into the audience just about 600 bags of potato chips, 300 packages of gummy bears, and 500 bags of M&M's. William Barfee consumes his 100th Twinkie on Friday night and over 700 juice boxes have now been distributed by comfort counselor Mitch Mahoney. Marcy Park is all business when it comes to karate kicking 100 planks of wood in half during her signature song – that's a total of 150 square feet to be precise. And Vice Principal Douglas Panch has prepared over 2000 note cards with multiple word definitions, alternate spellings and pronunciations – Mr. Panch has offered to date 5100 words and definitions to contestants at the microphone.

SPELLING BEE audiences swarm from around the globe and Chicagoland to prove how well they spell. 400 audience volunteers from places as far away as Australia & Alaska and as close as Lakeview & the Loop have all participated on-stage at the BEE. In total they have received roughly 1500 words, depending on their success at the microphone, with one notable pediatrician from Skokie going a record 7 rounds into the competition.

In the hilariously hip musical comedy, The 25th Annual PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, 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.

SPELLING BEE continues its critically acclaimed open-ended engagement at Chicago's Drury Lane Theatre, located at 175 East Chestnut Street.

Individual tickets range in price from $59.50 - $69.50 and are available at the Drury Lane Box Office (175 East Chestnut Street) as well as all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St. and 151 W. Randolph St.), through the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (312) 902-1400, at all Ticketmaster ticket centers or online at ticketmaster.com.

Discounted parking for SPELLING BEE theatre-goers is available at garages conveniently located near the theatre, for as low as $7.50 (rates based on availability, time and garage location). For complete information visit SpellingBeeTheMusical.com/Chicago.

Tickets are available for groups of 20 or more by calling (312) 977-1710.

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