- The cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Photo by David Cooper.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
June 15 to July 31, 2010 | Granville Island Stage
This h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s musical comedy is the funniest thing in seven consonants!
Jubilant and touching, this Tony Award–winning musical comedy pits quirky pubescent overachievers against one other in the spelling challenge of a lifetime. Amid infectious songs such as “My Friend, the Dictionary,” “Woe Is Me,” and “I Speak Six Languages,” the nerdy and wordy learn that winning isn’t everything.
First performed in a school cafeteria in Massachusetts, Spelling Bee went on to delight critics and audiences off Broadway, then on Broadway where it earned two Tony Awards. Michael Shamata directs the Arts Club incarnation at the Granville Island Stage beginning June 15, fresh from a hugely successful run at the Belfry Theatre in Victoria, where it earned the distinction of longest running show in Belfry history.
Alison MacDonald (Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre), Josh Epstein (William Barfée), and Tracy Neff (Olive Ostrovsky). Photo by David Cooper.
Join Leaf Coneybear, William Barfée (pronounced Bar-FAY, okay? There’s an accent aigu!), and a host of other endearing nerdlings as they spell precociously and compete ferociously for a trip to the nationals. A few ambitious audience members get to test their spelling mettle onstage (how long they stay depends entirely on them), but even chronic Spellcheck abusers will love this exuberant and uplifting story that celebrates the awkward adolescent outsider in all of us.
A REAL LIFE SPELLING BEE CHAMPION
Prior to our performance on Monday, June 28th, we are very luck to have Vancouver Sun Canspell Regional Winner, Scott Xiao and Spelling Bee Judge, Michelle Jickling as guest speakers for our Monday Mix lecture series! Come out and learn all there is to know about spelling bees from two folks with lots of practical experience.
Vancouver Sun Regional Bee Champ - Scott Xiao!
Is there a teacher’s pack to go with the play? We are bringing a group of 60+ students and would appreciate any guides that you may have.
Hi Carol Ann!
Unfortunately we don’t have a teacher’s guide for Spelling Bee, as the show is during the summer when most schools are out.
However there are some good resources at the following links:
http://www.spellingbeethemusical.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_25th_Annual_Putnam_County_Spelling_Bee
Hope that helps! Just let us know if there are any questions you have or any specific info we might provide.
We hope you enjoy the show!
Mike Mackenzie
Group Sales
mmckenzie [at] artsclub [dot] com