'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' transfers to Broadway's Circle In The Square

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee transfers to Broadway's 'Circle in the Square,' opening 2 May, following previews from the 15 Apr 2005. Tickets go on sale to the general public on the 21 Mar

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, opened off-Broadway at Second Stage on the 7 Feb 2005, following previews from the 11 Jan 2005. The show was originally to close on the 6 Mar, but extended two weeks until the 20 Mar after positive audiance response.

The musical will be produced on Broadway by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo, Barrington Stage Company and Second Stage Theater.

Producer David Stone told Variety "The reason to come to Broadway quickly has to do with keeping the cast together and momentum." He told Variety that 'The Circle in the Square' is the perfect theater for this production because it is a ampitheater, "When you have adults playing children, it helps not to look up at them, as you would in a traditional proscenium theater. At the Circle, we can make it more environmental, more like a school auditorium, than we could in a gilded rococo theater," he said. Stone has stated that the move from the 'Second Stage Theatre' to 'Circle In The Square' will cosy $3.5 million.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has music and lyrics by William Finn, book by Rachel Sheinkin, and was conceived by Rebecca Feldman.

Six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn�t everything and that losing doesn�t necessarily make you a loser.

The musical is based on the play 'C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E', and was first staged by the Barrington Stage Company in Sheffield, Massachusett's in Jul 2004

James Lapine directs the original Barrington cast that featured Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Leaf Coneybear), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Olive Ostrovsky), Derrick Baskin (Mitch Mahoney), Deborah Craig (Gramercy Park), Lisa Howard (Rona Janet),and original 'C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E' cast members Dan Fogler (William Barfee), Jay Reiss (Douglas Panch) and Sarah Saltzberg (Logan Schwarzengrubeniere) as well as Jose Llana (Tripp Barrington).

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as choreography by Dan Knechtges, set design by Beowulf Boritt, costumes by Jennifer Caprio, ligting by Natasha Katz and sound by Dan Moses Schreier