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The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a wildly funny and heartwarming musical that follows six quirky, lovable adolescents as they compete for the spelling championship of a lifetime. From shy Olive to intensely allergic William Barfée, former champ Chip, insecure Leaf, overachieving Marcy, and the socially conscious Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, each contestant shares their hopes, fears, and dreams through show-stopping songs and unforgettable moments. It’s a fast-paced, hilarious journey full of heart, surprises, and a whole lot of spelling! 

Think you’ve got what it takes to be Putnam County’s next spelling champion? Test your spelling prowess and enter your name in the lobby for a chance to take the stage as a guest speller when you arrive!

Rated PG for adult language and content

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Thank you to season sponsors Chevron and Chuck and Robbie Breaux and to media sponsors KAFM Community Radio and MBC Grand Radio: 92.3 The Moose, Magic 93.1, 103.9 The Planet, 100.7 The Vault 

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Director's Note

Jill Van Brussel

“Miss Peretti, please spell syzygy.” With that line, we enter the crucible of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee — a place where young people stand alone under a glaring spotlight and risk failure again and again. Each speller arrives with their own baggage — hopes, anxieties, absent or overbearing parents, secret dreams. They step to the microphone prepared as best they can. Sometimes they succeed. Sometimes they fail. Sometimes life feels random and unfair. And each leaves changed.

Haven’t we all been to the Bee? Literally — or metaphorically?

Won’t we be there again someday — standing alone at the mic, hoping we’re ready?

Composer and lyricist William Finn, who passed away in 2025, was known for his small, musically complex, deeply personal musicals including Falsettos and A New Brain. In Spelling Bee, his most widely produced work, he invites us to laugh at our own foibles as this wonderfully idiosyncratic group builds its own quirky community — reminding us that beneath the comedy lies something tender and universal.

As Rona Lisa Peretti explains, syzygy is when the planets align — a rare and magical moment. This cast has been its own syzygy. Many are new to the Asteria stage, and alongside Music Director Cristin Tillinghast and Choreographer Georgie Reigel, I’ve watched them bring fierce curiosity and heartfelt vulnerability to these roles in ways we couldn’t have predicted.

We’ll even invite a few brave audience members to step up to the microphone themselves. Because the Bee belongs to all of us.

“Life is random and unfair. Life is pandemonium!”

And yet there is always connection, growth, and hope.

Join us at the Bee

Cast Members

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  •  Lucy Amann Logainne Schwartzandgrubennire
  • Antwone Blagg Mitch Mahoney
  • Brock Cullen Vice Principal Douglas Panch
  • Ella Dunn Rona Swing
  • Garrison Herbert William Barfee
  • Levi Hughes Leaf Coneybear
  • Annalyn Milford Olive Ostrovsky
  • Abigail Smith Marcy Park
  • Guerin Smith Chip Tolentino
  • Kelsey White Rona Lisa Perretti
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