American Heartland Theatre Closes SPELLING BEE, 8/22

The American Heartland Theatre's production of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE continues for two more weeks before closing on Sunday, August 22nd. The production opened on July 9th.

Rated PG-13, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a light-hearted, feel-good show that prompts such easy-to-spell adjectives as charming, sweet, endearing and quirky, but may be best for mature audiences. Four guest spellers, pre-selected from the audience, make every performance of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee an exciting one. Each speller competes along side the cast to win the coveted spelling bee trophy. Audience members can sign up to be spellers online at www.ahtkc.com or in person by signing up at the "Spelling Booth" in the theatre lobby 30 minutes prior to each production. American Heartland Theatre has already welcomed guest spellers from several local news stations, including Fox 4, KCTV5 and KMBC 9, and hopes to have more local celebrities compete in the Bee in the finAl Weeks.

American Heartland Theatre brings this hilarious and touching musical comedy about trials of adolescence, competition, and trying to find your place in the world, with cast of talented actors under direction from Steven Eubank and Musical Direction from Anthony Edwards. Making their AHT debuts are Jermaine Blackwell (Mitch Mahoney), Jamie Lin (Marcy Park), Olivia Marsh (Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre), and Price Messick (Chip Tolentino). Adam Branson (Leaf Coneybear), Lauren Braton (Olive Ostrovsky), Michael Dragen (William Barfée), Colleen Grate (Rona Lisa Peretti) and Ken Remmert (Douglas Panch) are all returning to AHT for the second time in the 2009/2010 season.

Tickets can be ordered online at www.ahtkc.com or through the AHT Box Office at 816-842-9999. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee runs through August 22nd, 2010. Handicapped entry and seating, as well as assistive listening devices, are available at all performances. An ASL-interpreted performance is scheduled for Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 7:30PM.

American Heartland Theatre is one of the city's leading live theatre establishments and was rated #21 in the top area attractions by the Kansas City Business Journal. The theatre serves over 180,000 theatre-goers every year from Kansas City and five surrounding states. Each season, the theatre presents six productions, including comedies, musicals, dramas and mysteries featuring local, regional and national performers. AHT operates under agreements with Actors' Equity Association in its 440+ seat intimate theatre. American Heartland Theatre is located downtown in Crown Center and is a proud member of www.kclivearts.org.

Photo Credit: Shane Rowse