With cheers, tears, and special surprises (we're looking at you Celia Keenan-Bolger!), nine original cast members of the hit Broadway musical, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE - Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard,Jose Llana, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg (plus Jenni Barber) - reunited for a special one-night-only 10 Year Anniversary benefit concert Monday night, July 6.
The one-night-only event benefited The Actors Fund's Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative and was held in memory of Andrea "Spook" Testani Gordon, the beloved production stage manager of the original Broadway and off-Broadway production, who passed away on November 30, 2014 following a battle with cancer. Visit www.actorsfund.org/PNWHI.
This special concert was directed by James Lapine and Darren Katz, featuring musical direction by Vadim Feichtnerand Carmel Dean, and is produced by The Actors Fund with Natalie Gershtein as line producer. THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE was produced by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo, Barrington Stage Company and Second Stage Theatre.
THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE features book by Rachel Sheinkin, music and lyrics byWilliam Finn, and direction by James Lapine. Based on "C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E," an original play by The Farm, the production was conceived by Rebecca Feldman and featured additional material by Jay Reiss. It premiered on Broadway on May 2, 2005 following sold-out runs at Second Stage Theatre and the Barrington Stage Company. The critically acclaimed musical was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and won two: Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler). The production ran for nearly three years closing on January 20, 2008 after playing 1,136 performances.
Videos