At the Kennedy Center: Broadway’s ‘Spelling Bee’ is Generating Buzz
By • October 9, 2024 0 395
With a cast jam-packed with stars from the stage and silver screen alike, the Kennedy Center’s upcoming production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is already generating considerable buzz ahead of its opening night, Oct. 11.
Loquacious and laugh-out-loud funny in equal measure, thanks to the jaunty musical stylings of William Finn — the Tony Award-winning composer of “Falsettos” — “Spelling Bee” tells the charming story of six middle-school wordsmiths battling it out for the coveted title of Spelling Bee Champion.
As the members of this ragtag crew bear their souls to the audience one by one, sharing their feelings of inadequacy and earnest affection for the English language (among other musings), viewers cannot help but fall in love with every one of them.
When the show first premiered on Broadway in 2005, seven of the nine cast members — including Jesse Tyler Ferguson before his “Modern Family” days — made their Broadway debut. However, this time around at The Kennedy Center, director Danny Mefford’s cast is chock-full of familiar faces.
For starters, Tony Award-winning Bonnie Milligan, Mefford’s fellow “Kimberly Akimbo” alum, will portray Rona Lisa Peretti, winner of Putnam’s third Spelling Bee and moderator of its 25th. Further, “Booksmart” stars Beanie Feldstein and Noah Galvin have been cast as competitors Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre and Leaf Coneybear, respectively.
Kevin McHale, best known for playing Artie Abrams on the television musical comedy “Glee,” will be playing William Barfée — a contestant with a highly-effective strategy of spelling each word on the ground with his “magic foot.”
In an interview with The Georgetowner, McHale shared his fondness for Finn’s now-classic musical and his enthusiasm to bring Barfée to life on the Kennedy Center stage.
“I love the show,” said McHale. “It’s wonderful, it’s kooky, its music is great, it’s hilarious. So I’m just so excited to do it, and I’m so excited to get to play Will Barfée — probably the most fun character I’ve ever gotten to play.”
In addition to championing everything the stellar script of “Spelling Bee” has to offer, McHale is also looking forward to performing the show alongside such an accomplished and talented cast.
“I’m excited to get to hear some of my favorite voices and see some of my favorite performers do some of my favorite roles. And get to be in the room and watch it,” McHale said. “You know, I’m familiar with being part of an ensemble that takes place in a school, and so I feel comfortable.”
Though, the premise of “Spelling Bee,” which involves watching a group of 30-something actors play overly anxious tweens with advanced vocabularies, might sound a little niche, rest assured that the musical’s target audience is anything but.
“There’s no way nobody doesn’t like this,” McHale said. “I feel like it’s like a quick show. It’s easy, it’s funny, there’s great music. It has a bit of everything. And I feel like there’s a surprise element that you don’t normally get to see in theater — a little crowd participation.”
One of the unique hallmarks of “Spelling Bee” is its incorporation of the audience into the show. At one point during the performance, four attendees are called on stage to try their hands — or “magic feet?” — at spelling a few words.
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” will be presented in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater from Oct. 11 through Oct. 20. Tickets for the production can be purchased at kennedy-center.org.
