25th annual Putnam County spelling bee comes to Edmonds

Jon Woods as Panch, Ireland Woods as Logainne (Schwartzy), Dakota Daley as Barfee, Laura McFarlane as Olive, Michael Yichao as Chip and Mason Beaver as Mitch.

Edmonds Driftwood Players prepares for a riotous ride complete with audience participation. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a delightful den of musical comedic genius.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a musical comedy which centers on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley. Six quirky adolescents compete in the Bee, run by three equally quirky grown-ups. As our spellers compete, flashbacks and insight reveal personal details about each of them in this musical that explores the idea that winning isn’t everything.

Director Pauls Macs says of Spelling Bee: This is one of my very favorite musicals. There's nothing else like it in the musical theatre canon. Both hilarious and heartbreaking, the show lovingly plays with musical theatre conventions, and the audience participation makes each performance unique. I'm so grateful to Edmonds Driftwood Players for letting me tell this story. Only one speller can be champion, but each of the contestants learns what it means to be a winner at our bee.

About the Playwright: Conceived by Rebecca Feldman with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss. Feldman, the conceiver of Spelling Bee won a Lucille Lortel Award, Drama Desk and Tony Nomination for Best Musical for her work. She directed the world premiere in the summer of 2004. Sheinkin has written book for a number of musicals and earned a Tony award and a Drama Desk Award for best book of a musical for Spelling Bee. She teaches musical theatre writing at Yale. William Finn is an American composer and lyricist who has won many awards including those for Bee.

Parental Advisory: Contains Explicit Content

Performances: April 22 – May 8, 2016
Thursday-Saturday at 8:00pm, Sunday at 2:00pm

Performances are at the Wade James Theatre, 950 Main St Edmonds, WA
Tickets are $25. Senior/Junior/Military $22.
Purchase tickets here or 425-774-9600 option 3.