Jay Reiss News

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?

School season is upon us, and the Redhouse Arts Center is joining in on the school spirit fun with its first mainstage musical of the season, Tony Award winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee opening tonight, Sept. 12.

Geva Theatre Center's Artistic Director Mark Cuddy and Executive Director Tom Parrish are proud to announce the 12 major productions of the much anticipated 2014-2015 Season, the non-profit's 42nd year of making professional theatre of a national standard in Rochester.

School season is upon us, and the Redhouse Arts Center is joining in on the school spirit fun with its first mainstage musical of the season, Tony Award winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee opening on Sept. 12. Conceived by Rebecca Feldman, with music and lyrics by William Finn, book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss, Spelling Bee tells the delightful story of six quirky adolescents as they compete in the Putnam Valley Middle School Bee and learn that winning isn't everything!

Fountain Hills Theater is proud to present its 2014-15 seasons for its three venues, Mainstage, Mainstage Too! and Youth Theater. For additional information call Patty Torrilhon at 480-837-9661 or email patty@fhtaz.org.

Theatre UCF, part of the UCF School of Performing Arts, introduces an Annual Arts Festival to its 2014-15 season, in addition to its regular schedule of plays and musicals.

Fraggled Productions has put together a respectable production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Cupcake Theater in Hollywood with a delightfully oddball cast and the requisite fun audience participation. The Tony Award-winning musical, featuring music & lyrics by William Finn, book by Rachel Sheinkin, additional lyrics by Jay Reiss, and based on a concept by Rebecca Feldman, is a 90-minute comical look at the drama of an annual spelling bee competition with adults playing the roles of its middle school participants

Today in 2005, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee opened at the Circle in the Square Theatre, where it ran for 1136 performances. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a one act musical comedy conceived by Rebecca Feldman with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School. Six quirky adolescents compete in the Bee, run by three equally-quirky grown-ups. The 2005 Broadway production, directed by James Lapine, was nominated for six Tony Awards, winning two, including Best Book. The show has spawned various other productions in the U.S., including a national tour with performances in Canada, and Australian productions.

Geva Theatre Center's Artistic Director Mark Cuddy and Executive Director Tom Parrish are proud to announce the 12 major productions of the much anticipated 2014-2015 Season, the non-profit's 42nd year of making professional theatre of a national standard in Rochester.

The upcoming year at Redhouse Arts Center is a big one as they gear up to celebrate their 10th anniversary season! Starting this summer, Redhouse Arts Center will bring an exciting variety of performances to the Central NY area.

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, with Music and Lyrics by William Finn and Book by Rachel Sheinkin, Conceived by Rebecca Feldman with Additional Material by Jay Reiss, will be directed by Matt Giles with music direction by Justin Beal at Seattle Musical Theatre, tonight, February 7-23, 2014.

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, with Music and Lyrics by William Finn and Book by Rachel Sheinkin, Conceived by Rebecca Feldman with Additional Material by Jay Reiss, will be directed by Matt Giles with music direction by Justin Beal at Seattle Musical Theatre, February 7-23, 2014.

Este sábado 1o de febrero, Spelling Bee develó la placa conmemorativa por 50 representaciones, contando con el apadrinamiento de Freddy Ortega (de los MascaBrothers), Lola Cortés, y Kika Edgar.

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is delighted to announce its spring schedule of major events. The largest single source of performing arts events in the state of Ohio, CCM presents nearly 150 major public performances from Jan. 12 through May 18, ranging from faculty and guest artist concerts to fully supported opera, musical theatre, drama and dance productions.

A comical Tony Award-winning musical about an angst-filled spelling championship, and performances of a Jane Austen classic are among the November productions at the Theatre and Interpretation Center (TIC) at Northwestern University. For young audiences, TIC is staging a family musical based on a Newberry Honor Book with an anti-bullying message.

The UK tour of William Finn's Tony Award Winning musical comedy - 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee', starring Darren Day and Niki Evans, has been cancelled following its first two stops. According to the offfcial website of the Connaught Theatre, the full tour, including stops in Barnstaple, Kettering, High Wycombe, Crawley, Blackpool, Jersey and Eastbourne have been cancelled due to a lack of funding.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE continues to support MARIE ANTOINETTE by David Adjmi, commissioned by Yale Rep, now in previews at Off-Broadway's Soho Rep.

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) has announced details for its 2013-14 Studio Series of opera, musical theatre, drama and dance productions.

Writers and non-writers who refer to dictionaries to properly spell or pronounce a word will enjoy the hilarious stage production of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," Oct. 25-Nov. 10, at Northwestern University.

Darren Day and Niki Evans star in the first UK tour of William Finn's Tony Award Winning musical comedy - 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee', which embarks on a short national tour today.