Brush up on your vocabulary — Spelling Bee is coming to UMass Theater! Tickets are on sale now for our season opening musical.
Sweet, funny, poignant, and delightful — these words spell out the award-winning musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which opens the UMass Amherst Theater mainstage season on Oct. 30.
Tickets are now on sale for our production, which is directed by Professor of Performance and Directing Gina Kaufmann, who’s responsible for several recent Silverthorne Theater shows.
“It’s a joyful musical comedy with so much heart, as each middle-schooler deals with the very real pressure to be the best,” Kaufmann says. “I also love that there is audience participation. Several audience members are on stage as spellers at each performance!”
That right folks: willing participants are given the chance to volunteer to go up on stage to “compete” against our cast of spellers, adding an exciting element of unpredictability to each performance! (No singing or spelling skills required!)
As the title indicates, this musical revolves around the lives of a group of young teens competing in a local spelling bee, using their turns at the mike not just to spell words but to sing out their frustrations and triumphs. Meanwhile, the adults administering the bee have their own personal travails to contend with. Who will hoist the trophy? Who’ll be sent offstage with only the consolation of a box of apple juice? And who needs a long vacation?
“Spelling Bee,” says Theater major Eliza Epstein, who proposed the show for the season and is now serving as dramaturg, “bridges the gap between performance and competition, two high-stake challenges that call for massive amounts of effort from actors and competitors. Yet characters are able to grow and change in this world full of pressure, finding hope, love, and alternatives to perfection.”
This show was our students’ overwhelming choice for a musical to present this year, and we think their instincts are right on! Tickets are now on sale for this production — grab some for your family now!
Show Details
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
By William Finn (music and lyrics) and Rachel Sheinkin (book)
Director: Gina Kaufmann
Oct. 30, Nov. 5, 6 & 7 at 7:30
Oct. 31, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m.
Nov. 4 at 10 a.m.
The Rand Theater
Pricing: $19 for General Admission. $7 for Students, Seniors, and Card to Culture (for EBT, WIC, ConnectorCare cardholders)
Advance sales through the Fine Arts Center Box Office, door sales of all remaining tickets begin one hour before show time.
This show is recommended for ages 13 and up due to adult humor and situations, and references to sex. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com