The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Book By
Rachel Sheinkin
Music and Lyrics
William Finn
Conceived by
Rebecca Feldman
Additional Material by
Jay Reiss
Originally directed on Broadway by James Lapine
Originally produced on Broadway by
David Stone, James L. Nederland, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo,
Barrington Stage Company, Second Stage Theatre.
Based upon C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, an original play by The Farm.
The Barrington Stage Company workshop of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE was originally co-directed by Michael Barakiva and Rebecca Feldman
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming "ding" of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. A riotous ride, complete with audience participation, the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee causes audiences to fall in love, both with the show itself and its “perspicacious,” “jocular,” and “effervescent” spellers.
THIS SHOW CONTAINS LANGUAGE AND THEMES WHICH ARE INTENDED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES.
Crew
Director - Jay Bixler
Music Director - Tina Buran
Assistant Director/Stage Manager - Stevie Lash
Set/Sound Design - Jay Bixler
Sound Engineer - Mark Duggar
Costumer - Kathy Holsworth
Lighting Design - Choh Man Teng and Kayla Stephenson
Light Operator - Choh Man Teng
Properties - Carla Rhodes
Choreographer - Hannah Vogel
Spotlight Operator - Cassidy King
Backstage Crew - Eric Banville
Set Construction and Painting - Bill Mankins, Carol Mankins, Jonathan Mankins,
Choh Man Teng
PLT Artistic Director - Kathy Holsworth
PLT Technical Director - Kayla Stephenson
MUSICAL NUMBERS
Act 2
"Chip's Lament" - Chip
"Woe is Me" - Logainne, Logainne’s Dads, and Company
"Spelling Montage" - Panch, Spellers
"I'm Not That Smart (Reprise)" - Leaf
"I Speak Six Languages" - Marcy, Olive, Logainne
"Jesus" - Marcy, Olive, Logainne
"The I Love You Song" - Olive, Olive's Mom, Olive's Dad
"Woe is Me (Reprise)" - Logainne, Mitch
"My Favorite Moment of the Bee (Reprise 2)" - Rona
"Second" - Barfée, Olive, Company
"Second (Part 1)" - Barfée, Olive, Company
"Weltanschauung" - Barfée, Company
"Barfée and Olive Pas de Deux" - Company
"Second (Part 2)" - Barfée, Olive, Company
"The Champion" - Rona, Company
"Finale" - Company
"The Last Goodbye" - Company
Act 1
"The Twenty-Fifth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"- Chip, Rona, Leaf, Logainne, Barfée, Marcy, Olive
"The Spelling Rules" - Panch, Spellers, Rona, Mitch
"My Favorite Moment of the Bee" - Rona
"My Friend, the Dictionary" - Olive, Chip, Leaf, Logainne, Rona, Company
"The First Goodbye" - Company
"Pandemonium" - Chip, Olive, Logainne, Leaf, Barfée, Marcy, Mitch
"I'm Not That Smart" - Leaf
"The Second Goodbye" - Company
"Magic Foot" - Barfée, Company
"Pandemonium (Reprise)" - Mitch, Company
"My Favorite Moment of the Bee (Reprise)" - Rona
"Prayer of the Comfort Counselor" - Mitch, Company
There will be a 15 minute intermission.
Band
Conductor/Piano - Tina Buran
Keyboard/Synthesizer - Ginger Caro
Reeds - Ashley Hicklen
Drums - Steve Maniscola
SETTING
Present day. Present location.
Cast
(In order of appearance)
Annette Remitera as Rona Lisa Peretti
Annette thanks her lucky stars that earth aligned with the moon and the sun to bring us together here and proudly welcomes you to the Bee! She has previously played at Pensacola Little Theatre as Rosie in Mamma Mia! and Truvy in Steel Magnolias. Annette is super stoked to be tackling her most challenging role yet as “momma” in the Steve Shumaker production, STELLA, debuting this fall.
Gavin Parmley as Chip Tolentino
Gavin has been in many Pensacola Little Theatre productions such as Shrek the Musical as Shrek, Into the Woods as Rapunzel’s Prince, and Little Shop of Horrors as Seymour. Gavin holds a BFA in musical theatre from The Boston Conservatory. He would like you to know that he actually is a terrible speller.
Mischel Johnson as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre “Schwarzy”
Mischel is very excited to be back on stage performing at Pensacola Little Theatre. She was previously seen in Pensacola State College’s production of The Producers as Dance Captain and Usherette. Mischel has also been a part of multiple productions at PSC and PLT including Sister Act, Funny Girl, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Footloose. She hopes you enjoy the spelling bee as much as she does.
Nathan Toepfer as Leaf Coneybear
Nathan is a frequent performer at Pensacola Little Theatre. Recent productions include Schoolhouse Rock Live!, Dracula: A Real Pain in the Neck, and Sister Act. Nathan also played Leaf Coneybear in 2011 in The University of West Florida’s production of Spelling Bee. He is thrilled to be “back in the helmet”.
Anthony Broughton as William Barffee
Anthony has been performing at PLT since 2012. He was last seen as Joe in SchoolHouse Rock Live! and is excited to be back a year later. He hopes this show will bring laughter through the pandemic for some people and help them through it.
Anna Catherine Morgan as Marcy Park
Anna Cat is thrilled to be back on stage! She has previously performed in Pensacola Little Theatre’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and The Addam’s Family, and Funny Girl at Pensacola State College. She is hoping that everyone enjoys the show. Merci! Danke! Toda! Arigatou! Spasibo! Gratias Tibi!
Hannah Vogel as Olive Ostrovsky
Hannah is thrilled to return to the stage after a pandemonious year. She has previously performed on stage in Pensacola Little Theatre’s productions of Mamma Mia!, Into the Woods, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Robbie Gonzalez as Douglas Panch
This is Robbie’s 7th show at Pensacola Little Theatre. He has previously been a cowboy in Footloose, a chimney sweep in Mary Poppins, and a handyman in Mamma Mia!. Robbie is thrilled to be back on the PLT stage.
Joseph Garnett as Mitch Mahoney
Joseph is proud to share the stage with his castmates. Previous stage credits include Charlie Brown in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. He would like to dedicate this performance to his dear friend Sean Sumpter.
A Note From The Director
The past year has been difficult for all of us in the theatre community. This show marks, at least in my mind, a turning point of sorts for PLT, bringing musicals back to the main stage after a full year.
In the production of this show we acknowledge the past year and our new reality in some subtle and not so subtle ways, but our overall goal is to take you out of the present and into our story. We want you to remember what it felt like to be a 12 year old kid just trying to figure out how to get along in the world.
I want to thank the cast and crew for all of their hard work this spring, and also I would like to thank my wife Maggie and our son Munro for putting up with all of the late nights. It’s nice to get back to doing theatre.
Enjoy the show!
About The Director
Originally from Greenville, Mississippi, Jay Bixler has been acting and volunteering in community theatre for over 35 years. A Veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Jay served as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the 5th Marine Regiment in California and later as the chief administrator for Aviation Maintenance Squadron 1 at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Jay has been an active part of Pensacola's theatre community since 2003, acting and directing shows for Pensacola Little Theatre, Pensacola State College, and the Pensacola Shakespeare Company, as well as appearing in local commercials for the Boys & Girls Club of Northwest Florida. Jay has been Education Director for PLT since 2017, a program that offers instruction in acting and improv to students of all ages. He is also a founding member of Pensacola's own improvisational comedy troupe, IC.
Special Thanks
Sarah Setta
The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.
THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE is presented through special arrangement by MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL (MTI).
All authorized performance material are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIshows.com
