CRT Presents 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, Now thru 12/7

What do you get when you throw six quirky kids bubbling with adolescence, three frazzled school administrators trying to relive their glory days, a live band, and four new audience members each night into a spelling bee? Magic. Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) will present The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee onstage at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre tonight, November 20th through December 7th. Winner of Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Theatre World and Tony Awards in 2005, Spelling Bee will delight audiences. For tickets and information, call 860-486-2113 and visit www.crt.uconn.edu.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling features a book by Rachel Sheinkin, music and lyrics by William Finn, and additional material by Jay Reiss. Conceived by Rebecca Feldman, this musical is intriguing not only for its peculiar characters but for the surprising audience interaction, with four audience competitors joining the cast each night.

"Each night there will be four guest spellers from the audience and community competing against the cast. We'll have celebrities and public figures like Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill, UConn Men's Baseball Coach Jim Penders, UConn Women's Softball Coach Jen McIntyre onstage as part of the fun. Other contestants are selected from the audience - so it is a completely different show every night", said Director Paul Mullins.

Led by Rona Lisa Peretti (Blythe Wilson), the number one realtor in Putnam County, and the lovesick, fiber-filled Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Mark Harapiak), all six peculiar spellers and four lucky audience members compete for the title of champion. Each contestant is just hoping to go home to their individually insane families with more than a juice box from ex-convict/comfort counselor Mitch Mahoney (Melvin Abston). However, Olive, Barfée, Schwarzy, Marcy Park, Leaf Coneybear, and Chip all find that, maybe, winning the spelling bee doesn't mean getting a trophy; it means earning the right to spell your own destiny. Come enjoy the show that features a Grammy Award-winning cast album and a crew of characters that is sure to have you jumping from your seat and spelling with the best of them.

Photo by Gerry Goodstein