Hart House Theatre to Present THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE this Fall

Opening November 10, Hart House Theatre is p-l-e-a-s-e-d to present the fan favourite and long-titled, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Directed by Hart House Theatre alum, Cory Doran, and starring a stellar cast of emergent talent, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee promises to tickle the funny bones of our audience. This charming, Tony Award winning musical looks at a small-town spelling bee and uncovers the universal truth that winning is not, in fact, everything. With quirky contestants vying for the prize and some unconventional teachers running the show, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is sure to be the definition of hilarity and higher learning...used in a sentence!

We welcome Director Cory Doran back to Hart House after his incredible work directing Boeing Boeing and The Importance of Being Earnest in past seasons. In addition to Cory's directorial work, he is an award-winning actor who can be heard regularly on your radio and television. He does the voices for successful cartoon shows such as Wild Kratts, Cat in the Hat, Freaktown, The 3 Amigonauts, Little Charmers, Luna Petunia, True and the Rainbow Kingdom, as well as many many more. When asked why he was drawn to directing this musical, he had this to say:

" The Putnam Spelling Bee has been on my 'bucket list' of shows to do, since I first saw it back as a teenager. My mom was very supportive of her 'acting' son, and wanted to do her best by exposing me to as many different types of shows as possible. Back then I only really wanted to watch or be a part of plays. Musicals weren't on my radar, really, more of a fun escape that I never saw myself being a part of, let alone direct. However, when I saw Spelling Bee, I was blown away by the spot-on satire of these 'kids' struggling to find themselves in the world, all while competing in a highly competitive spelling bee. It was absurd! And yet utterly relatable.

It was also the first time I had seen the melding of improv and audience participation in a musical! Having done lots of improv training, I was blown away by the possibilities the show presented. I am very grateful for the opportunity to be able to direct this influential show, and I hope people take advantage of the chance to catch this hilarious take on the coming-of-age tale."

Joining Cory on the production team are Music Director Giustin MacLean and Choreographer Sabrina Hooper. Helping to transform our theatre into a public school auditorium are design team Brandon Kleiman (sets), Kathleen Black (costumes) and André du Toit (lights).

For more information visit harthousetheatre.ca.

To post a comment, you must register and login.