Favorites of 2025: Jess Hoffman

10. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – Sand Lake Center for the Arts Sand Lake Center for the Arts’s fall production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was impossible not to love. The adult cast portrayed the adolescent characters with humor and sincerity. Allison McArdle Avery’s…

REVIEW: “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts

by Paula Kaplan-Reiss The late great William Finn wrote the music and lyrics for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, originally workshopped at Barrington Stage Company in 2004 and premiered on Broadway in 2005. A winner of two Tony awards, this sweet, endearing and hilarious musical depicts the competitors…

REVIEW: “Puffs” at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts

by Dan Mayer Not everyone is destined to defeat the dark lord and save the world. Puffs takes us back to a familiar school of magic to follow the stories of characters usually relegated to the background. SLCA‘s production casts quite a spell, delivering both hilarity and heart. Audience members…