Casting Announced for Boston Production of Spelling Bee

Full casting has been announced for the upcoming Boston resident production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which starts its open-ended run at the Wilbur Theatre on September 26th.

The show will feature Aaron J. Albano as Chip Tolentino, Stanley Bahorek as Leaf Coneybear, Jenni Barber as Olive Ostrovsky, Jared Gertner as William Barfee, Sara Inbar as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, James Monroe Inglehart as Mitch Mahoney, Greta Lee as Marcy Park, Daniel Pearce as Douglas Panch, and Betsy Wolfe as Rona Lisa Perretti.

All but Pearce currently appear in Spelling Bee's sitdown production at San Francisco's Post Street Theatre (his role is played there by Jim Cashman).  The San Francisco staging will close on September 3rd after a run of 215 performances and 17 previews.  The show is also playing in Chicago, while a national tour will kick off in Baltimore in September (it is currently playing a month-long engagement at Atlanta's ALLIANCE THEATRE).

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee continues to be a Broadway hit at Circle in the Square, where it opened on May 2nd, 2005. In the musical, "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 in this funny, tender and sardonic musical," state press notes.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which was conceived by Rebecca Feldman, features music and lyrics by Tony Award-winner William Finn (Falsettos, Elegies) and a Tony Award-winning book by Rachel Sheinkin, with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show is directed by Tony Award-winner James Lapine (Sunday in the Park with George, Falsettos) and features choreography by Dan Knechtges, as well as music direction by Jodie Moore.

The creative team includes: Beowulf Boritt (sets), Jennifer Caprio (costumes), Natasha Katz (lighting), and Dan Moses Schreier (sound).

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee's Broadway cast features Derrick Baskin as Mitch Mahoney, Deborah S. Craig as Marcy Park, Barrett Foa as Leaf Coneybear, Josh Gad as William Barfee, Lisa Howard as Rona Lisa Peretti, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Olive Ostrovsky, Jose Llana as Chip Tolentino, Sarah Saltzberg as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre and Greg Stuhr as Douglas Panch.

Visit www.spellingbeethemusical.com for more information on Spelling Bee.