The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee

Recipient of 2005 Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Director of a Musical and Ensemble. The show also received the 2005 Lucille Lortel award for Outstanding Musical. 

In The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser. 

Charles Isherwood of the New York Times called it "irresistible and entirely lovable," praising William Finn's "nimble, upbeat score," Rachel Sheinkin's "riotously funny" book and James Lapine's "impeccable" direction. Terry Teachout in the Wall Street Journal called the show "the best in town - that rarity of rarities, a super-smart show that is also a bona fide crowd-pleaser."

David Rooney of Variety stated that, "this winning new musical is so generously warm-heated, only the most bitter misanthrope could resist its charms." Michael Sommers of the Star-Ledger called it "a nifty musical gift," and Linda Winer of Newsday deemed it "endearingly deranged." Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press simply asked, "How do you spell h-i-t?"


Schedule

Location          MAP

Circle in the Square Theatre
1633 Broadway
New York, NY 10019

Located on West 50th between Broadway & 8th 

OPENING DATE     May 2, 2005
CLOSING DATE     Open Run