The new musical currently enjoys a San Francisco run at The Post Street Theatre and will play an open-ended sit-down run at Chicago's Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place (starting March 28). The Georgia run — which opens the regional company's season — precedes the show's national tour which starts in Baltimore.

"I fell in love with the piece within my first ten minutes of seeing it," stated Alliance Theatre artistic director Susan V. Booth in a release. "The opportunity to give this warm and extremely witty gift to Atlanta AND launch Spelling Bee's national tour at the Alliance is icing on a very good cake."

Casting for the tour will begin this spring. The original Broadway creative team will return for the Atlanta production and national tour.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee pits 10 contestants (six actors, four audience members) against each other in a battle for the championship of the local spelling competition.

The spellbinding new musical directed by James Lapine (Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods) and created by composer-lyricist William Finn, librettist Rachel Sheinkin and conceiver Rebecca Feldman. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 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 for the top prize of Best Musical. Fogler and book writer Sheinkin took home awards for their work.

Tickets to the run at the Alliance Theatre, 1280 Peachtree Street in Atlanta, GA will be available by subscription in March with single tickets going on sale June 30. For more details, call (404) 733-4600 or visit www.alliancetheatre.org.

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