Back in Blue: Broadway's Spelling Bee Offers Two More Adult Shows | Playbill

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News Back in Blue: Broadway's Spelling Bee Offers Two More Adult Shows The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will present mature-audiences only performances Jan. 21 and March 4.

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S-C-A-N-D-A-L-O-U-S: Spelling Bee will once again offer its mature-audiences only peformance. Photo by Joan Marcus

Directed by James Lapine (Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods) and created by William Finn, Rachel Sheinkin and Rebecca Feldman, Bee will go blue for the 7:30 PM performances on the aforementioned Sundays. "Due to the mature material and politically incorrect humor, no one under age 16 will be admitted," advises a release.

Jay Reiss — the actor who originated the role of Vice Principal Douglas Panch on Broadway and provided the definitions and (unhelpful) context sentences — previously described the special night's origins: "During rehearsals, I would occasionally cross the line a bit and use some material that was pretty filthy. The cast would crack up, and director James Lapine would say, 'That is so wrong.'" Both the Boston and San Francisco runs of the show have also witnessed the "adults-only" Bee.

Spelling Bee was based on C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, an original play created by Feldman and the comedy troupe The Farm. Composer-lyricist Finn provides the score to the musical incarnation with a book by librettist Sheinkin.

The musical earned six Tony Award nominations including Best Score, Best Book, Best Direction, Best Featured Actor (Dan Fogler) and Featured Actress (Celia Keenan Bolger) as well as a nomination for the top prize of Best Musical. Fogler and book writer Sheinkin took home awards for their work.

Original cast members Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Lisa Howard, Jose Llana And Sarah Saltzberg are now joined by Barrett Foa, Josh Gad, Greg Stuhr and Jessica Snow Wilson.

Spelling Bee, in its second year on the Broadway boards, has already played stints in San Francisco, Boston and Atlanta and currently enjoys an open-ended run at Chicago's Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place as well as a national tour.

For more information on the musical, visit www.spellingbeethemusical.com.

 
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