SPELLING BEE Gets Raves in San Francisco

Every major Bay Area critic has given a rave review to the newly-opened San Francisco production of the hit musical comedy The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The sit-down production began previews at the Post Street Theatre (450 Post St.) on February 14 and had its official press opening on March 1. San Francisco is the first city to get its own production of Spelling Bee since the Tony Award winning show opened on Broadway, where it continues a successful run at Circle in the Square Theatre (50th St. between Broadway & Eighth Ave.).

Robert Hurwitt of the San Francisco Chronicle said that Spelling Bee "is as smart as it is silly and as sensitive as it is blithely satirical. It's also surprisingly meaningful and unexpectedly moving. Long may it run." Chad Jones of the Oakland Tribune proclaimed, "Speller, your word is 'fantastic.' In a sentence, the word might be used as follows: 'The new musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is utterly fantastic.'" Pat Craig of the Contra Costa Times called the show "slyly funny…comically pointed…a musical delight." Karen D'Souza of the San Jose Mercury News simply said, "Spelling Bee is a hit from A to Z." L. Pierce Carson of the Napa Valley Register told his readers, "The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee is a rare beast – a Broadway show with wit, laughs, fun songs, an incredibly talented cast and a message – and not a flaw in sight."

This fall, there will be four North American companies of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee running simultaneously. In addition to the Broadway and San Francisco productions, Spelling Bee will begin a Chicago run at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place on March 28. In the fall, a national tour launches in Baltimore (after receiving a regional production at the ALLIANCE THEATRE in Atlanta).

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is produced by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo, Barrington Stage Company and Second Stage Theater. For more information, visit www.spellingbeethemusical.com.