The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - Creative Team

William Finn is a celebrated American composer and lyricist, best known for his heartfelt, character-driven musicals and his groundbreaking contributions to contemporary musical theatre. Born on February 28, 1952, in Natick, Massachusetts, Finn studied at Williams College, where he began developing his distinctive voice as a songwriter. He is most widely recognized for creating the semi-autobiographical Marvin Trilogy, which includes In Trousers (1979), March of the Falsettos (1981), and Falsettoland (1990). These shows were later combined and revised into Falsettos (1992), which won Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Book. Finn’s work often explores themes of identity, family, illness, and ... read more 25 Broadway shows including: Act One (Tony Award), The Scottsboro Boys (Tony Nomination), Therese Raquin (Tony Nomination), Come From Away, Flying Over Sunset, Freestyle Love Supreme, The New One, Meteor Shower, A Bronx Tale, Prince Of Broadway, Hand To God, Sondheim On Sondheim, …Spelling Bee , LoveMusik, Grace. 100 Off- Broadway shows including The Last Five Years, Fiddler On The Roof (in Yiddish), Sleepwalk With Me, and Miss Julie. 2007 OBIE Award for sustained excellence. Natasha Katz is a New York-based lighting designer. She is a six-time Tony Award winner who has designed extensively for theatre, opera, dance, concerts, and permanent lighting installations around the world. Her recent Broadway credits include: Diana, The Music Man, All My Sons, Burn This, The Prom, Frozen, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Cats, School of Rock, An American in Paris, Aladdin, Skylight, The Glass Menagerie, Once, Follies, The Coast of Utopia: Salvage, and Aida. Lapine is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for Into the Woods, Falsettos, and Passion. He has frequently collaborated with Stephen Sondheim and William Finn. Broadway: Falsettos; American Psycho; The Visit; A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder; Sondheim on Sondheim; A Little Night Music; Gypsy (with Patti LuPone); Radio Golf; John Doyle's production of Sweeney Todd; Gem of the Ocean; Pacific Overtures; Assassins; Into the Woods; Topdog/Underdog; Dirty Blonde; Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk. He has composed scores for the Broadway productions of The Merchant of Venice, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, and Dan Hurlin's Disfarmer (St. Ann's Warehouse). Awards: four Tony Award nominations, four Drama Desk Awards. Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing, Freaky Friday, Falsettos, First Daughter Suite, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Kid Victory, If/Then, Annie, Dogfight, Leap of Faith, Queen of the Mist, People in the Picture, Sondheim on Sondheim, Next to Normal (Tony Award), Glorious Ones, Grinch, Adrift in Macao, Bernarda Alba, Spelling Bee, Assassins (Tony Award), Tom Sawyer, A New Brain, A Christmas Carol, Hello Again, Guys & Dolls (1992), My Favorite Year, In Trousers, Sunday in the Park with George, Once on This Island, Closer Than Ever, Legs Diamond, Romance Romance, Carrie, Birds of Paradise, Rags, Three Guys Naked, Von Richtofen.