VideoV-I-D-E-O: Watch Highlights From Kennedy Center's 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Bonnie Milligan, Noah Galvin, Beanie Feldstein, and more star in the William Finn musical through October 20.
By
Logan Culwell-Block
October 18, 2024
A starry revival of William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is currently at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center through October 20. But if you can't get to D.C., now you can watch video highlights above!
The musical, which premiered on Broadway in 2005 after an Off-Broadway run, features a Tony-winning book by Sheinkin (adapted from a play by Rebecca Feldman) and music and lyrics by two-time Tony winner Finn. The work is set at a fictional middle school spelling bee, where a lovable band of misfits—plus a few lucky audience members—assemble to duke it out on their knowledge of word spellings and languages of origin. The show was a Best Musical nominee at the 2005 Tony Awards, winning for Sheinkin's book and original cast member Dan Fogler's featured performance.
Danny Mefford (Kimberly Akimbo) is directing and choreographing, with Roberto Sinha serving as music director. The production features scenic design by Paul Tate dePoo III, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by David Weiner, and sound design by Haley Parcher. Matthew Lacey serves as production stage manager.
Filmed in 2023, the one-night-only event featured Brian Stokes Mitchell, Audra McDonald, Peter Friedman, and more from the Ahrens and Flaherty musical's original cast.
Surrounded by period-accurate, 19th-century holiday decorations lit via candlelight, the 70-minute production is based on Dickens' own script of the classic.