Born at the Barrington Stage Company in the Berkshires, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” will make its Boston premiere this fall.  Jon B. Platt will present the Tony Award-winning musical comedy in an extended engagement at the Wilbur Theatre, beginning September 26. Tickets go on sale on Sunday, July 30.

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” chronicles the experience of six youngsters (played by adults) vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show’s creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of characters for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.

Platt commented, "I have always wanted to present a Broadway musical at the Wilbur, the most intimate of all of the downtown Boston theatres.  Given this intimacy and the show’s local connections with playwright William Finn and Barrington Stage, ‘Spelling Bee’ is that rare perfect fit.  It is extraordinarily smart and funny and will have huge appeal to New England audiences."

The Wall Street Journal called “Spelling Bee,” “perfect in every possible way – it is that rarity of rarities, a super-smart musical that is also a bona fide crowd-pleaser. It’s not merely funny, it's wise.”  

The New York Times added, “Can you spell i-r-r-e-s-i-s-t-i-b-l-e? ‘Spelling Bee’  is riotously funny and remarkably ingenious. Gold stars all around.”

James Lapine, the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winner who directed the Broadway production, will direct the Boston company.  The musical, conceived by Rebecca Feldman, features music and lyrics by Tony Award-winner (and Natick native) William Finn (“Falsettos,” “Elegies,” “A New Brain”) and a Tony Award-winning book by Rachel Sheinkin, with additional material by Jay Reiss.  ”Spelling Bee,” is produced by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo, Barrington Stage Co. and Second Stage Theatre
 
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” continues its record-breaking run on Broadway, where it is now the longest running show in the history of Circle in the Square Theatre.  Currently, there are also sit-down productions at Chicago’s new Drury Lane Theatre (Water Tower) and at San Francisco’s Post Street Theatre. This fall, in addition to the Boston engagement, a national tour of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” will kick off at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center.

Performances will be Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 and 5 p.m.

For tickets and information,  stop by the Wilbur box office, 246 Tremont Street in Boston, call 617-931-2787 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

-- OnStage Boston

07/26/06