THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE at RITZ THEATRE COMPANY

"We are thrilled to bring the multiple TONY Award Winning 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee to The Ritz Main Stage. The show appeals to a very wide audience, and it includes an element of interaction that we love to bring to as many shows as possible.

We know this show will delight our audiences, and this one even offers our audiences an opportunity to be part of the show!" says Ritz Theatre Artistic Director Bruce Curless.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with 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 show is a spoof of the contests that pit children against children to determine who has the best command of their voluminous vocabulary. Among the competitors are the incumbent, Wentworth Miller III, and Grammarcy Park, who placed first in the Math Bee. Presiding over the test are four-time champion Rhona Janet and vice principal Douglas Panch.

The 2005 Broadway production, earned good reviews and box-office success, and was nominated for six TONY Awards, winning two, including Best Book. The show has spawned various other productions in the United States, and other countries.