Photo Coverage: Mitchell, Salonga, Esparza at the 'Bee'
By: Mark Rupp Mar. 19, 2007
Tony Award-winners Lea Salonga (Les Miserables, Miss Saigon) and Brian Stokes Mitchell (Man of La Mancha, Kiss Me, Kate), as well as Tony Award-nominee Raul Esparza (Company, Taboo), joined the cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for one night only as guest spellers at the Bee's first ever "Broadway Night at the Bee" on Sunday, March 18 at 7:30pm.
"A hilariously hip musical comedy, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee features six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learning that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser," according to press materials on the show. Spelling Bee is the Tony Award-winning musical with music and lyrics by William Finn, book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman and directed by James Lapine. The Broadway production of Spelling Bee opened on May 2, 2005 before launching a national tour in September of 2006 and an open-ended engagement in Chicago in March of 2006.For more information, please visit www.spellingbeethemusical.com.
Lisa Howard, Sarah Saltzberg and Barrett Foa
Cast of Spelling Bee
Audience speller
Derrick Baskin with audience speller
Raul Esparza
Raul Esparza
Brian Stokes Mitchell and Lea Salonga with Jessica-Snow Wilson, Jared Gertner, Sarah Saltzberg, Deborah S. Craig, Jose Llana and Barrett Foa
Brian Stokes Mitchell, a good speller, finally gets bumped off - with Derrick Baskin
Raul Esparza and Jose Lllana
Raul Esparza and Jose Llana
The cast with William Finn, Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Raul Esparza
