McDaniel College's THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE Begins Tonight

McDaniel College theatre arts students perform in the Tony Award-winning musical comedy "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." Performances are tonight, March 4 - Saturday, March 7, 7:30 p.m., in WMC Alumni Hall at McDaniel College, 2 College Hill, Westminster, Md. (Note: the show contains some adult content and is suitable for ages 12 and over.)

Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for seniors, veterans, students and those with a McDaniel College ID. For ticket information, call 410-857-2448.

This quirky one-act show centers on a middle school spelling bee and chronicles the experiences of six adolescents vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show includes improvisation and audience participation.

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is based on an original improvisational play conceived by Rebecca Feldman and performed by The Farm, a New York improvisational comedy troupe. The 2005 Broadway production, directed by James Lapine and produced by David Stone with music and lyrics by William Finn, was nominated for six Tony Awards, winning two, including Best Book.

McDaniel visiting theatre arts professor Gené Fouché directs, with musical direction by Alison Shafer of Frederick, Md.

"'Spelling Bee' is one of my favorite non-traditional musicals and is an exceptional vehicle in which to explore character. It's also a unique opportunity to use our performance and interactive acting students in one show," said Fouché.

She added, "The play incorporates audience volunteer spellers, and allows for quite a bit of improvisation. Consequently, audience members will never see the same show twice."

Najee Banks, a senior from Baltimore, plays home-schooled student Leaf Coneybear. Juniors are Samantha Arana of Silver Spring, Md., as Logainne Schwartzandgrunierre "Schwartzy," Joshua Harding of Federalsburg, Md., as William "Barfee," last year's spelling bee finalist, and Jennifer Litzinger of West Windsor, N.J., as the multilingual overachiever Marcy Park. Sophomore Sakena Martin of Cape Coral, Fla., is Spelling Bee newcomer Olive Ostrovsky, and sophomore Jehan Silva of Gaithersburg, Md., is Boy Scout Chip Tolentino. Additionally, senior Lyndsay Arnold of New Windsor, Md., is Rona Peretti, the number-one realtor in Putnam County and a former Putnam County Spelling Bee champion, and freshman Timothy Eichelberger of Myersville, Md., is vice principal Douglas Panch.

The cast also includes sophomores Wesley Brown of Potts Camp, Miss., Antoinette Martin of Cape Coral, Fla., and Brandi Weyers of Northfield, Mass., and freshmen Torreke Evans of Atlanta, and Mackenzie Wolf of Forest Hill, Md.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 410-857-2448. Visit www.mcdaniel.edu/theatre for more information about the college and the theatre arts department.

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