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.
Listen up for the word “syzygy” in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. It’s defined as an out-of-this-world alignment. Off Broadway at New World Stages, all the elements have stacked up splendidly in a revival of the show that arrives 20 years after the Broadway premiere and captures every drop of the original charm. The endearing misfit characters, upbeat and thoughtful songs, and consistently laugh-out-loud humor add up to pure joy.
William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s delightfully quirky musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has returned to New York in a dream-come-true revival directed by Danny Mefford at New World Stages. A full-hearted, belly-laughing confection from the early 2000s, this new production of Spelling Bee swoops in like a big hug from an old friend, reminding us of everything we fell in love with two decades ago.
| 2004 | Regional (US) |
Workshop Regional (US) |
| 2004 |
World Premiere |
|
| 2005 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
| 2005 | Broadway |
Broadway Transfer Broadway |
| 2006 |
San Francisco Production |
|
| 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) |
| 2025 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
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