Newnan Theatre Company to Stage THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

What do you get when six prepubescent children, a disgruntled principal, an overly cheerful realtor, and a parolee come together one Saturday to spell? THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, of course! On May 12-15, and May 19-22, Newnan Theatre Company is proud to present this hilarious musical as the final show of its 2015-2016 season.

"I am beyond excited to be directing this show, as it is one of my favorite musicals of all time," said director Andrew Miller. "There is just something about six adults playing middle school and upper elementary school students that is just ridiculously humorous. Especially when they have to play off two other adults playing adults." And each of the cast members has gone above and beyond to assume the roles of these children, channeling bits and pieces of their own middle-school selves.

"These actors are so talented and can pick up anything with speed," said choreographer Susan Babcock. Each number that was choreographed took one night per song to learn and then perfection came with practice. Music director Tammy Kimbell added, "There is a lot of dissonance and very hard choral parts in this musical. Even though the music was very challenging, the cast learned it remarkably fast and has mastered it."

Putnam centers on a regional spelling bee where six children from different schools and backgrounds all have won or "placed" in their district's bees. Moderated by former spelling bee champ and now Putnam county realtor, Rona Lisa Peretti (Emily Kimbell) and dissatisfied principal, Douglas Panch (Lance Smith), try to maintain control and keep pandemonium from breaking loose. The spellers are an eclectic bunch of kids. Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Ann Moore) is the lovable little liberal, LGBT advocate, and lover of all things American, and she is only in the 5th grade. Leaf Coneybear (Melanie Jessel) was homeschooled (or so we think) and has a very bright, optimistic, wide-eyed outlook of the world around him. Marcy Parks (Carly Ann Berg) is the very reserved, Catholic schoolgirl who is beyond advanced for her age, and the over achiever of the group in all fields. There is also a cocky, overconfident Boy Scout named Chip Tolentino (Justin Russell) who starts puberty in the show causing an interesting game changer for him. Finally are the two unlikeliest to become friends, Olive Ostrovski (Carrie Moll) and William Barfee (David Waller). Olive is the new kid in school, the district, and the region whose homelife is a wreck, and Barfee is the know-it-all, science nerd who has a malady for every situation. Recent parolee Madge Mahoney (Dixie Currey) is doing her community service by giving comfort to the losers of the bee.

The six contestants are joined on stage for part of the show by audience participants making it an improvisational show as well. Every performance will be different. "Both Melanie and Lance are part of the NTC's improv troupe, N.I.T.W.I.T.S., so they have been a huge asset getting the cast ready to be prepared for anything to happen," says Miller.

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE opens May 12 and runs Thursday through Sunday for two weekends. The shows are at 8pm Thursday through Saturday and 3pm on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased at Newnan Theatre Company's box office by calling 770-683-6282 or online at www.newnantheatre.org.

Pictured: The cast of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE sings "Pandemonium" to complain about a contestant being asked to spell an easy word. Shown are (L-R) Ann Moore, Justin Russell, Carrie Moll, Melanie Jessel, David Waller, Dixie Currey, Carly Ann Berg, Emily Kimbell, and Lance Smith.

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