The Palace Cultural Arts Association will present the smash Broadway musical production, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, on Friday, October 12 and Saturday, October 13, at 8:00 pm in the Palace Theatre May Pavilion.
This hit musical originally opened off-Broadway and has packed theatres across the country since. “The Bee” follows six awkwardly intelligent children who set out to make the National Spelling Bee which is run by three even quirkier, idiosyncratic adults. Each character’s unique personality and “underdog” situation will bring laughter and joy to audience members. The musical is engaging and genuinely funny all the way to the end but also presents an underlying sadness to each of the character’s stories creating an unforgettable and endearing production.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is directed by Clare Cooke. George Schram will serve as orchestra conductor.
The cast is a tight knit group of talented local actors including:
- Amanda Sterling as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (she gives new meaning to the term “underdog” while she deals with a lisp and the high expectations of her two dads);
- Joni Carlson as Marcy Park (a national finalist from another state the year before. She has been pushed to succeed in everything);
- Charles Groth as William Barfée (whose carnival of physical and emotional issues conceals a brilliant young person);
- Nathan Haubert as Leaf Coneybear (a social outcast who isn’t good at making friends or making the grade, but is excellent at making his own clothes);
- Kristi Wink as Olive Ostrovsky (a shy girl with abandonment issues–her mother is on a spiritual retreat in India and her work-aholic father is coming to The Spelling Bee later on); and
- Eric Hertenstein as Chip Tolentino (the local national finalist from the year before. He is encountering puberty and fighting the inevitable changes in his maturing body).
- The adults are portrayed by John Garnes, Jr. as Mitch Mahoney (also Dan Dad and Olive’s Dad), Andy Harper as Vice Principal Douglas Panch and Julia Vanderhoff as Rona Lisa Peretti (also Olive’s Mom).
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is rated R on the Music Theater International website. It contains adult content and language and is not intended for children.
Tickets are available in advance at The Marion Palace Theatre Box Office, online at www.marionpalace.org or by calling 740-383-2101. Tickets are also available at the door the evening of the performance (while they last). Ticket prices are $18 general admission.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is sponsored by United Federal Credit Union and the Marion Community Foundation’s Mary H. Hollaway Palace Theatre Fund.
About Marion Online News
