The event will take place Aug. 3, 5:30-7 PM, at the bookstore located at 1972 Broadway (on the corner of 66th Street). The company will sign the original cast recording by Ghostlight Records (a division of Sh-K-Boom Records) and a perform songs from the show, including a special performance of "Why We Like Spelling."
The new William Finn, Rachel Sheinkin and Rebecca Feldman musical currently resides at Circle in the Square Theatre where previews began April 15 and opened May 2. James Lapine (Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods) directs the spellbinding showdown with the same cast and crew from its recent Off-Broadway run.
"[It's a] really fun song, we did it in Barrington," Tony-nominated librettist Rachel Sheinkin told Playbill.com about the bonus track "Why We Like Spelling" which is not featured in the Broadway production. "If there were an intermission and it were two acts [on Broadway] we would definitely have put it in, but the choice was to go for the one-act, so a couple songs had to face the axe."
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The new William Finn, Rachel Sheinkin and Rebecca Feldman musical currently resides at Circle in the Square Theatre where previews began April 15 and opened May 2. James Lapine (Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods) directs the spellbinding showdown with the same cast and crew from its recent Off-Broadway run. 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 cast includes Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sarah Saltzberg, Dan Fogler, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jose Llana, Derrick Baskin, Lisa Howard and Jay Reiss.
David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo, Barrington Stage Company and Second Stage Theater present the work on Broadway by composer William Finn (Falsettos), librettist Rachel Sheinkin (Striking 12) on a concept by Rebecca Feldman. Fogler, Saltzberg and Reiss were part of the original ensemble of C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, the play on which the musical is based.
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 bookwriter Sheinkin took home awards for their work.
For more information, visit www.spellingbeethemusical.com.
