NewsSpelling Bee National Tour Kicks Off Second Leg in Texas Sept. 4The national tour of the Tony-winning musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee hits the road again Sept. 4 for a second leg of stops. Fort Worth, Texas' Bass Performance Hall is the acclaimed show's first destination.
By
Ernio Hernandez
September 04, 2007
Eric Roediger stars in the national tour of Spelling Bee.
Photo by Joan Marcus
The cast now features Katie Boren (as Marcy Park), James Kall (Douglas Panch), Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Leaf Coneybear), Justin Keyes (Chip Tolentino), Kevin Smith Kirkwood (Mitch Mahoney), Vanessa Ray (Olive Ostrovsky), Eric Roediger (William Barfee), Dana Steingold (Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre) and Sally Wilfert (Rona Lisa Peretti).
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.
Following stops at nearly 30 cities on its first leg, the national tour now continues its second leg.
Cities slated to see the bee include:
Fort Worth, TX (Sept. 4-9) - Bass Performance Hall
Fayetteville, AR (Sept. 11-16) - Walton Arts Center
University Park, PA (Sept. 19-20) - Eisenhower Auditorium
Hershey, PA (Sept. 21-23) - Hershey Theatre
Omaha, NE (Sept. 25-30) - Orpheum Theater
Detroit, MI (Oct. 2-21) - Fisher Theatre
Washington, D.C. (Oct. 23-Nov. 4) - National Theatre
Milwaukee, WI (Nov. 6-11) - Marcus Center
Providence, RI (Nov. 13-18) - Providence Performing Arts Center
Appleton, WI - (Dec. 11-16) - Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
Jackson, MS (Dec. 18-19) - Thalia Mara Hall
Jacksonville, FL (Dec. 20-23) - Times Union Center
Sarasota, FL (Dec. 25-30) - Van Wenzel Performing Arts Center
Raleigh, NC (Jan. 1-6, 2008) - Memorial Auditorium
East Lansing, MI (Jan. 8-13, 2008) - Wharton Center
Buffalo, NY (Jan. 15-20, 2008) - Shea's Performing Arts Center
Rochester, NY (Jan. 22-27, 2008) - Auditorium Theatre
Toronto, ON (Jan. 29-Feb. 10, 2008) - Elgin Theatre
Oklahoma City, OK (Feb. 12-17, 2008) - Rose State Theater
Tucson, AZ (Feb. 19-24, 2008) - Tucson Music Hall
Salt Lake City, UT (Feb. 26-March 2, 2008) - Kingsbury Hall
Sacramento, CA (March 5-16, 2008) - Community Center
Houston, TX (March 25-April 6, 2008) - Hobby Center
Des Moines, IA (April 8-13) - Civic Center
Madison, WI (April 18-20, 2008) - Overture Center
Memphis, TN (April 22-27, 2008) - The Orpheum
Cleveland, OH (May 6-18, 2008) - Playhouse Square The spellbinding musical is 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.
