In Spelling Bee, six pubescent students navigate their county’s spelling tournament with anxiety, angst and determination. As the competitors progress with the help of definitions, mnemonic devises and toe-tapping tricks, they discover a new sense of belonging and learn that there is more to life than winning a trophy. This charming coming-of-age tale also invites four volunteers from the audience to participate in each performance, ensuring new and unexpected comedy every night.
Recommended for ages 12 and up. Adult humor and some coarse language.
The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Holiday perennials 'The Christmas Schooner,' 'Winter Pageant,' 'Christmas In Chicago' and more, plus 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,' 'Carrie' casting, Griffin's 'Bee,' two from Disney and NBC's 'The Sound Of Music!'
Aladdin, which will open on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on March 20, is currently playing at Toronto's Ed Mirvish Theatre (formerly the Canon), where it will run through January 5, 2014. Opening night there is November 21, 2013. Below, go inside rehearsals with the cast as they prepare the show for the stage!
ProArts will present "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" as the second show of their 2013/2014 season. This Tony Award Winning musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Rachel Sheinkin was conceived by Rebecca Feldman. "Can you spell irresistible? Spelling Bee is 'A Chorus Line' with pimples" raved the New York Times. "It is that rarity of rarities; a super-smart musical that is also a bona-fide crowd pleaser" cheered the Wall Street Journal. The Associated Press put it simply: "How do you spell h-i-t?"
The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Three touring shows are playing this week, with 'Wicked' beginning next week, plus a lot at Northwestern, two spelling bees, more Halloween shows, appearances by Joan Crawford and Elaine Stritch, and more!
Chance Theater has announced its 16th anniversary season, which will be the first in its new home at 5522 E. La Palma Ave. in Anaheim, which is double the size of its current space. Chance subscribers and audiences will enjoy a bold line-up that includes cheerleaders taking a stand, a "passio
Opera Australia Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini and leading Australian theatre producer John Frost today announced the principal cast for Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic Broadway musical The King and I. Lisa McCune and Teddy Tahu Rhodes will co-star in the Tony Award-winning Australian production, which is being revived next year by the Gordon Frost Organisation and Opera Australia.
The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. The BroadwayWorld Chicago Awards are open for nominations! Plus three shows get extensions, the Drury Lane announces 2014-15, two musical improv shows play midweek runs, some local 'Cats,' FOUR productions of 'Sweeney Todd' and more!
Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, celebrates 30 years of producing critically-acclaimed musicals and plays with its stellar 2014-2015 season. The internationally celebrated musical LES MISERABLES previews March 29, opens April 8, and runs through June 8; the smash hit Tony Award-winning musical comedy THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE previews June 19, opens June 26, and runs through August 17; the clever and suspenseful new play THE GAME'S AFOOT previews August 28, opens September 4 and runs through October 19; the legendary Broadway musical CAMELOT previews October 30, opens November 6 and runs through January 4, 2015; and the musical phenomenon WEST SIDE STORY previews January 15, opens January 22, and runs through March 15, 2015.
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.
54 Below will present the special series The Last Five Years in Concert - with the show's recent stars Adam Kantor and Betsy Wolfe - fromOctober 16 to 19 to celebrate the new cast recording from Sh-K-Boom / Ghostlight Records. These four shows will give audiences a chance to celebrate the musical in the intimate setting of 54 Below with the critically acclaimed performances of Betsy and Adam, along with the full band reunited from this year's hit production at Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director). The composer Jason Robert Brown himself will be at the piano on October 16 -17 at 7:00 PM, with Andrew Resnick taking over on October 18-19 at 11:00 PM. The entire set of concerts will feature Gary Sieger on acoustic guitar, Randy Landau on fretless bass, Thomas Kim Carney on violin, and Summer Boggess and Mairi Dorman on cello. The cover charge ranges from $35 to $45 and there is a $25 food and beverage minimum. Please visit 54Below.com for additional information.
This marks the company's fifth year and we hope to continue to bring quality entertainment to the tri-state area! In addition LRT is proud to announce that we will be offering kids workshops several times a year. All children will be featured in scenes and solo songs from popular musicals! Please check our website for more information.
Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is thrilled to announce the 45 Houston area high schoolscompeting in the 12th annual Tommy Tune Awards. Developed by TUTS in 2002, the Tommy Tune Awards honor musical theatre excellence at the high school level, celebrating outstanding student achievement in 15 categories. During the 2013-2014 school year, a team of Houston-based theatre professionals will evaluate the participating high schools' productions and announce the winners at a Tony Awards-style ceremony to be heldApril 16, 2014 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. The event will spotlight musical numbers from the nominated shows as well as reveal the winning performers, directors, choreographers, orchestras and designers who have defined excellence throughout the 2013-2014 school year. The Best Leading Actor and Actress, the most prestigious recognitions of the Tommy Tune Awards, will represent TUTS in an all-expense paid trip as they go on to compete at the national level for the Jimmy Award at the National High School Musical Theater Awards in New York City in June 2014.
Sierra Repertory Theatre celebrates its 35th Anniversary with what SRT artistic director Scott Viets called 'one of the most exciting and ambitious seasons in our entire history.' Commencing with the international sensation Les Miserables, the 2014 season will include eight plays and musicals - three shows with live music, a sequel to last year's Church Basement Ladies, an Arthur Miller drama, a Rodgers and Hammerstein classic and a new musical comedy about contestants at a spelling bee. Season tickets go on sale September 1, and general admission tickets go on sale October 1.
Hershey Area Playhouse announces an update and its directors for the 2014 season. The theatre was originally scheduled to open the season with the musical The Fantasticks, but due to a national tour now coming through the area at the same, the rights are no longer available. Instead, the Playhouse artistic committee is excited to feature the musical comedy, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Aurora's Paramount Theatre will launch its third Broadway subscription series this September with the first local professional staging of In the Heights, one of Broadway's most acclaimed contemporary musicals, a potent reminder of the importance of chasing one's dreams, and the show all of Chicago will be talking about this fall. Performances are September 11 through October 6, 2013. Press opening is Saturday, September 14 at 8 p.m.
The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. 'Spelling Bee,' 'The Bee Gees,' 'The Jungle Book' and 'Phantom' extend, 'Cabaret,' 'Uptown Opera' the Aguilars in 'Double Trouble,' 'Elf' and more!
The Theatre Group at SBCC is excited to open the 2013-2014 season with the quirky musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Music and Lyrics by William Finn, Book by Rachel Sheinkin, Conceived by Rebecca Feldman, and additional material by Jay Reiss. Directed by R. Michael Gros and Musical Direction by David Potter, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a hilarious tale of overachievers' angst chronicling the experience of six adolescents vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show's Tony Award-winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.
Producers Letty Aronson and Julian Schlossberg have announced initial casting, preview and opening dates for the world premiere production of BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, the new Broadway musical adaptation of Woody Allen's and Douglas McGrath's screenplay of the 1994 film.
The show's Tony Award-winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time. Check out a first look below!
Playhouse Jr., Point Park University's family and children's theatre company and the nation's second oldest continuously running children's theatre company, will celebrate its 65th season with three engaging productions that can be enjoyed by all ages.
The Theatre Group at SBCC is excited to open the 2013-2014 season with the quirky musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Music and Lyrics by William Finn, Book by Rachel Sheinkin, Conceived by Rebecca Feldman, and additional material by Jay Reiss. Directed by R. Michael Gros and Musical Direction by David Potter, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a hilarious tale of overachievers' angst chronicling the experience of six adolescents vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show's Tony Award-winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.
A Drama Desk Award, an OBIE Award, a multiple Tony-nominated play, a one-man show by a Tony-nominated actor, and the return of a new musical by an award-winning team are all part of Philadelphia Theatre Company's stellar season next year. Philadelphia Theatre Company announces its five-production 2013/2014 mainstage season - 4000 Miles by Amy Herzog, Nerds with book and lyrics by 3-time Emmy nominated Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner and music by Hal Goldberg, Tribes by Nina Raine, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang, and A Boy and His Soul written and performed by Colman Domingo.
TimeLine Theatre Company, dedicated to presenting plays inspired by history that connect to today's social and political issues, announces that The How and the Why by Sarah Treem (Netflix's House of Cards, HBO's In Treatment), directed by Keira Fromm and starring Janet Ulrich Brooks and Elizabeth Ledo, will be the third production of its 2013-14 season.
If you haven't had the chance to catch up on your theater news, look no further than today's recap of all things theater - exclusive features, interviews, reviews and more! - around the Broadway World for the week of April 15!
Berkeley Playhouse has announced the lineup for its sixth season. The family-friendly season of musicals timeless and new opens in October with Andrew Lippa and Brian Crawley's enchanting A LITTLE PRINCESS, directed by Berkeley Playhouse Artistic Director Elizabeth McKoy. Marissa Wolf returns to the company to direct Meredith Wilson's THE MUSIC MAN in February, followed by THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE in April, directed by Kimberly Dooley. Closing the MainStage season is SHREK THE MUSICAL directed by Elizabeth McKoy in July. In addition to the MainStage season, the company will present winter, spring, and fall YouthStage productions. The entire 2013-14 season will be staged at the Julia Morgan Theater (2640 College Avenue) in Berkeley. Subscriptions ($54-$112) on-sale March 23; single tickets ($17-$60) on-sale August 1. For tickets and information, the public may visit berkeleyplayhouse.org or call 510-845-8542x351.
2004 | Regional (US) |
Workshop Regional (US) |
2004 |
World Premiere |
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2005 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
2005 | Broadway |
Broadway Transfer Broadway |
2006 |
San Francisco Production |
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2006 | US Tour |
First National Tour US Tour |
2006 | Boston |
Boston Production Boston |
2011 | West End |
Donmar Warehouse Production West End |
2014 | Washington, DC (Regional) |
Ford's Theatre Society Production Washington, DC (Regional) |
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