The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee comes to Melbourne

Get out your dictionaries! Tony Award winning musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is heading to MTC’s Lawler Theatre from March 30. With music and lyrics by William Finn, and book by Rachael Sheinkin, this charming and hilarious insight into the pressures of competitive spelling is not to be missed.

This endearing musical comedy follows six teenagers as they fight to win the county spelling bee – and along the way, they learn about what it takes to win and that winning may not be everything. At each performance, four audience members are asked to compete with the other contestants, making each performance unique.

putnam county spelling bee
The cast.

Spelling Bee originally opened Off-Broadway in 2005, and quickly became a hit, prompting its move to Broadway where it ran for 3 years. It was nominated for 6 Tony Awards and won for Best Book. It has been highly acclaimed by critics, The New York Times praising it as ‘irrestible, riotously funny and remarkably ingenious.’

The cast of Vic Theatre Company’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee features Carina Way (Rona Perretti), David Spencer (Vice-Principal Douglas Panch), Michael Linder (Mitch Mahoney), Caitlin Mathieson (Olive Ostrovsky), Andrew Hondromatidis (William Barfee), Sage Douglas (Schwarzy), Teresa Duddy (Marcy Park), Henry Brett (Leaf Coneybear), James Coley (Chip Tolentino) and Riley Nottingham (Janitor), all supported by a hot five piece band.

The creative team includes Benjamin Giraud (director),Trevor Jones (music direction), Bernie Bernard (choreography), William Bobbie Stuart (set designer), Marcello Lo Ricco (sound designer) Zoe Felice (costume designer) and Glenn Ferguson (producer).

Get your tickets now at www.mtc.com.au.

Bec Caton

Bec has a diploma in musical theatre and is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English. She is a freelance theatre writer in Sydney.

Bec Caton

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