Effortlessly endearing...
Gold stars all around.
— The New York Times
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
November 29–December 24, 2023
Music and Lyrics by WILLIAM FINN
Book by RACHEL SHEINKIN
Conceived by REBECCA FELDMAN
Additional Material by JAY REISS
Directed by MEREDITH MCDONOUGH
Music Direction by WILLIAM LIBERATORE
Choreography by LEE ANN PAYNE
Creative Producer JAMES MONROE IGLEHART
Six ambitious, hilarious middle schoolers—played by some equally-hilarious adults—go head-to-head in this riotous musical. The rules here are simple: Prove you’re the best speller on stage, and you secure a spot at the national spelling bee. Falter on “hasenpfeffer” or “crepuscular” and nothing but a consolation juice box awaits. Will your favorite fall to pressure and puberty? And who in the audience will join the onstage competition? Take your seats for the sassy-sweet concoction that captures all the chaos, heartbreak, and elation of becoming a childhood champion.
Cast
KIRSTEN DELOHR HELLAND
SIREN: Kirsten “Kiki” deLohr Helland is a Seattle-based, award-winning performer and collaborator. Seattle Repertory Theatre: Lizard Boy. The 5th Avenue Theatre: The Sound of Music (Maria), Grease (Rizzo), Oklahoma! (Ado Annie), Elf (Jovie), Hairspray in Concert (Penny Pingleton), Pirates of Penzance, Rent and Titanic in Concert. Village Theatre: Les Misérables (Eponine), Trails (Amy), The Tutor (Hildegarde). Village Theatre Beta Series: String (Lachesis), Afterwords (Jo). ArtsWest: American Idiot (Whatsername). Film: Laggies. When she isn’t acting, Kiki enjoys True Crime Documentaries, singing with her lifelong best friend Justin Huertas and spending as much time in Disneyland as possible. She holds a B.F.A. from Pacific Lutheran University.
JUSTIN HUERTAS
TREVOR: Justin Huertas is an award-winning playwright, composer-lyricist, and actor. His original musical Lizard Boy world-premiered at Seattle Rep (4 Gregory Awards, Seattle Times Footlight Award), toured to San Diego’s Diversionary Theatre (Craig Noel Award), and had two staged readings at Playwrights Horizons. His follow-up fantasy The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion (with additional music by Steven Tran) premiered at ArtsWest Playhouse & Gallery. Lydia & the Troll is third in his series of Seattle-set modern-myth musicals. Justin wrote music and lyrics for Book-It Repertory Theatre’s Howl’s Moving Castle and for The Lamplighter with co-authors Sara Porkalob and Kirsten “Kiki” deLohr Helland. Find him on social media: “Justin Writes Musicals.”
WILLIAM A. WILLIAMS
CARY: A California native, William A. Williams is a musician/actor now based out of New York City. Seattle Repertory Theatre: Lizard Boy (Cary), Of Mice and Men (Whit). Balagan Theater: Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (Dr. Horrible). Contemporary Classics: …Spelling Bee (Leaf Coneybear), Zanna, Don’t! (Steve, Arvin) Village Theatre: Beauty and the Beast, Showboat, The Gypsy King. Seattle Shakespeare Company: Romeo and Juliet, Comedy of Errors. William played guitar in productions of Spring Awakening (Balagan), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (ArtsWest) and took on the bass guitar for The Iceman Lab at Target Margin in NYC. He can often be spotted rummaging through endless crates of vinyl records, singing standards in dingy bars, or producing funky tracks in his humble home studio. William received a B.F.A. from Cornish College of the Arts.
Special Events and Accessible Performances
- Wednesday, December 6, 2023 @ 7:30pm
- Wednesday, December 20, 2023 @ 7:30pm
- Saturday, December 23, 2023 @ 8pm
- Sunday, December 24, 2023 @ 2pm
- Sunday, December 17, 2023 @ 2pm
- Sunday, December 17, 2023 @ 7pm
- Wednesday, December 20, 2023 @ 2pm
- Tuesday, December 12, 2023 @ 7:30pm