The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

BROADWAY’S TONY AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL COMEDY IS SET TO COMPETE AT THE MARRIOTT THEATRE, MAY 13 - JULY 19, 2009 Lincolnshire, IL —Get out your dictionaries! Celebrating 35 years of producing award-winning musical theater in Chicagoland, The Marriott Theatre is thrilled to present this side-splitting production of the Tony Award-winning musical comedy The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee previews May 13th, opens May 20th, and runs through July 19th at the Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive. The New York Times says: “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.” In the Wall Street Journal, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was called, “…perfect in every possible way – that rarity of rarities, a super-smart musical that is also a bona fide crowd-pleaser. An ingenious blend of simplicity and sophistication, it’s not merely funny, it’s wise.” Hot off the Broadway stage, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a tuneful, offbeat and at times heartwarming tale that follows the story of six pubescent outcasts who are overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves. Through the ups and downs of the BEE they’re forced to learn that winning isn’t everything and that losing doesn’t necessarily make you a loser. The comical bar is raised exponentially as four volunteer audience members get the opportunity to become part of the action as an on-stage BEE contestant. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is recommended for theatergoers 13 and older. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee features witty and endearing music and lyrics by William Finn and a hilarious book by Rachel Sheinkin. The musical is based upon C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E by Rebecca Feldman and was originally performed by The Farm, a New York-based improvisational comedy troupe. Nominated for six Tony Awards including Best Musical, it received two 2005 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Featured Actor in a Musical. The cast for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee stars Katie Boren as Marcy Park, Roberta Duchak as Rona Lisa Peretti, Heidi Kettenring as Olive Ostrovsky, Kevin Smith Kirkwood as Mitch Mahoney, Michael Mahler as Isaac