‘THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE’: Kevin McHale (center) & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

THE 25^TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
Music & lyrics by William Finn
Book by Rachel Sheinkin
Conceived by Rebecca Feldman
Music supervision & vocal arrangements by Carmel Dean
Originally directed on Broadway by James Lapine
Directed & choreographed by Danny Mefford
Through September 6, 2026
New World Stages
340 West 50^th Street
https://spellingbeenyc.com/

By Scott Harrah

Two decades after it first appeared on Broadway, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is back. This Off‑Broadway revival feels both nostalgic and fresh. Spelling Bee was originally nominated for six Tony Awards and winner of two, including Best Book of a Musical for Rachel Sheinkin and Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Dan Fogler. The show also helped launch the careers of Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Josh Gad. Now, with an updated script and a marvelous cast, this beloved show proves why it has remained such an enduring hit.

The story of Spelling Bee

At its core, Spelling Bee is a musical comedy about six offbeat middle-school students competing in a regional spelling bee. Set inside a school gymnasium, the competition is a forum for the kids to show off their spelling skills and vent about their personal insecurities, hope and dreams. They share the stage with Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Jason Kravits), the weary “pronouncer” of the competition. Other characters include moderator and former champion Rona Lisa Peretti (Lilli Cooper); and overprotective parents who hover on the sidelines.

The competitors

Meanwhile, the characters and their many quirks quickly overshadow the actual spelling. Each contestant delivers a humorous monologue before attempting a word.

For example, there’s Olive Ostrovsky (Jasmine Amy Rogers), a nervous speller who’s upset because her mother is in India at an ashram, her father is running late to the event and she doesn’t have the $25 entrance fee.

William Barfée (Kevin McHale) is a cocky guy with many physical ailments who uses his “magic foot” technique to help him spell out words.

Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Autumn Best) is a spunky speller with a lisp who cannot spell a word without her two fathers standing by her on the podium to encourage her.

The remaining contestants include Chip Tolentino (Phillipe Arroyo), a former champion and Boy Scout facing the awkward (and sometimes funny) realities of puberty; Leaf Coneybear (Justin Cooley), an unfocused speller with ADHD; and Marcy Park (Leana Rae Concepcion), a hyper‑accomplished overachiever who speaks six languages, practices karate, and sleeps just three hours a night.

Adding to the fun, several audience volunteers are selected at random to compete alongside the actors, creating spontaneous moments each night.

Winning ensemble cast

Spelling Bee relies on a cohesive company of the six spelling contestants. All of the six actors form a winning ensemble, thanks to tight direction and choreography by Danny Mefford.

First, Jasmine Amy Rogers is an emotional powerhouse as Olive, the anxious girl who is devastated that her parents are not attending the competition. Her delivery and timing are top notch. Her vocals in the solo numbers “My Friend, the Dictionary” and “The I Love You Song” are heartwarming highlights.

Next, Kevin McHale (of “Glee” fame) is perfect as William, the overzealous nerd. Mr. McHale is superb singing his solo “Magic Foot” and sometimes steals the show with his many outbursts and nervous tics.

Additionally, Justin Cooley’s quirky, trance‑like Leaf is consistently hilarious, while Phillipe Arroyo earns big laughs as Chip in “My Unfortunate Erection (Chip’s Lament).”

In addition, two of the other young actresses in the show are also crowd pleasers. Leana Rae Concepcion is hysterical as Marcy, the annoying overachiever, and she sings “I Speak Six Languages” with conviction. Autumn Best is charming as Logainne, the know-it-all girl with a speech impediment and a problem with low blood sugar.

Among the adults, Lilli Cooper shines as the spunky, high-spirited Rona. Jason Kravits brings charm and perfectly calibrated frustration to Vice Principal Douglas Panch.

A Spelling Bee for the 2020s

Although much of the original 2005 show remains intact, the script includes contemporary updates. For instance, Logainne references “hot” mayor‑elect Zohran Mamdani. Also, the epilogue humorously notes her later role in “President AOC’s administration.” Together, these touches keep the show grounded in present-day America without sacrificing its timeless appeal.

Ultimately, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee celebrates underdogs navigating competition, identity, and the pressure to succeed—all themes as resonant now as they were two decades ago. This joyous revival is sure to be a big h‑i‑t.

Published November 17, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on November 14, 2025

‘THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE’: (left to right from top) Philippe Arroyo & Leana Rae Concepcion; (left to right from bottom) Autumn Best & Justin Cooley. Photos: Joan Marcus.

‘THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE’: Jason Kravits & Lilli Cooper. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE’: Matt Manuel, Autumn Best & Justin Cooley. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE’: Matt Manuel & Philippe Arroyo. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: MERRILY WE STOLE A SONG’: Chris Collins-Pisano & Jenny Lee Stern. Photo: Carol Rosegg.

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: MERRILY WE STOLE A SONG
Created, written & directed by Gerard Alessandrini
Choreography by Gerry McIntyre
Music direction by Fred Barton
Through January 5, 2025
Theater 555
555 W. 42nd St.
https://www.forbiddenbroadway.nyc/

By Scott Harrah

It has been five long years since the last installment of Forbidden Broadway played the New York stage. For those unfamiliar, Gerard Alessandrini’s Forbidden Broadway is a beloved farcical franchise of theatrical lampooning. The latest iteration, Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song, is long overdue. It is perhaps one of Mr. Alessandrini’s funniest and most scathing shows yet. The show jabs the satirical needle into the latest crop of Broadway shows. There is a definite “meta” thrill of insider humor if one has seen most of the productions being parodied. However, Merrily We Stole a Song features razor-sharp performances, goofy sight gags and crisp vocals and will, therefore, be lots of fun even for people who have not seen anything on Broadway the past season.

Nearly all of Broadway’s current biggest hits are all roasted and parodied with relentless glee, from the mega-successful revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along to the musical adaptation of Back to the Future to this summer’s sensational hit Oh, Mary! Included are parodies of Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone and Ben Platt.

& Juliet and Cabaret

One of the funniest vignettes is the parody of Cabaret. It starts out with Danny Hayward portraying the venerable Joel Grey in the original 1966 production in which he starred as the emcee. He sings the classic “Wilkomen” while a cabaret girl (Jenny Lee Stern) dances next to him. He says to the audience, “Ladies, gentlemen, and suckers who have paid six hundred dollars a seat. You there in the ring side table, do you like all those sweaty butts in your face?”

Next, Ms. Stern tears his costume. He morphs into Alan Cumming, who performed in two revivals of the Kander and Ebb classic. All of a sudden, the cabaret girl tears the emcee’s costume again. He morphs into Eddie Redmayne, the British actor who was universally panned by critics for his lackluster performance in the 2024 revival. Mr. Hayward impersonates Mr. Redmayne as the grotesque caricature he is in the new production. “Vile homely actors are stranger/I put this classic in danger,” he sings. “I’m Eddie Redmayne/And I have no charm/I will repulse you/Sniff my underarm and lick it!”

Nicole Vanessa Ortiz skewers the jukebox Shakespeare-themed musical & Juliet with the hilarious “& Juliet/Sore,” sung to the tune of Katy Perry’s “Roar.”  She sings, “I sing like I’m on fire (tiger?)/Like I’m a one-woman choir/Like my head’s exploding/I yell till my throat is sore.”

The Great Gatsby, Hell’s Kitchen & Back to the Future

Other highlights include “Great Gatsby for Dummies,” with Mr. Hayward, Ms. Ortiz and Chris Collins-Pisano mocking the current Broadway musical, based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, starring Jeremy Jordan.

Ms. Ortiz and Ms. Stern portray Alicia Keys and her piano teacher in a delightful lampoon of the Broadway smash Hell’s Kitchen in the number “Hell’s Kitchen and Alicia’s Piano Lesson.” The song points out the factual inaccuracies of the musical. Ms. Ortiz sings “this show’s a big liar” to the tune of “This Girl is On Fire.” Meanwhile, Ms. Stern adds additional snark by saying she’s choking on all the dust from “disintegrating actors at Manhattan Plaza,” the affordable-housing project that is the setting for the story.

The Back to the Future musical adaptation is wonderfully eviscerated in three songs, “Back to the Future Part 1,” “Power of Math,” and “Back to Back to the Future,” featuring Mr. Collins-Pisano, Mr. Hayward in all three and Ms. Stern in two songs. The same three actors team up to ridicule The Outsiders in “The Outdated,” which one characters describes as “West Side Story plus Grease.”

There is even a clever song poking fun at Lincoln Center, trashing everything highbrow from the opera and ballet to such flop revivals as Camelot.

“Ev’ry season at the Beaumont/There’s a mo-ment you will cringe/Bartlett Sher will gladly dare/Kill any classic when he’s on a binge,” they sing.

Gypsy, Suffs & Oh, Mary!

Other hysterical highlights include Ms. Ortiz portraying six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald singing about her upcoming starring role in the new revival of Gypsy. The song, “Audra in Gypsy,” is viciously funny, and Ms. Ortiz’s vocals are lush and vibrant. Finally, Ms. Stern does a spot-on impersonation of Hillary Clinton as the producer of the women’s right-to-vote musical Suffs. The song gets in digs at that show’s creator Shaina Taub in “Shaina Taub: Cheap Marching/Finale.” Next, Ms. Stern’s Hillary Clinton introduces us to another First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln. Mr. Collins-Pisano sings a winning homage to Cole Escola’s nonbinary, non-factual portrayal of Abraham Lincoln’s wife in Oh, Mary!

Gerard Alessandrini has mounted different productions of Forbidden Broadway since 1982. The shows just get funnier and more caustic with each installment.  As creator, writer and director, Mr. Alessandrini gets outstanding performances from the entire cast. It is genuine treat and thrill to have a new Forbidden Broadway show back in New York to send up the current season. Merrily We Stole a Song delivers many badly needed laughs during these tense times.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published September 23, 2024
Reviewed at September 21, 2024 press performance

‘FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: MERRILY WE STOLE A SONG’: Jenny Lee Stern & Danny Hayward. Photo: Carol Rosegg.

‘FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: MERRILY WE STOLE A SONG’: Jenny Lee Stern, Chris Collins-Pisano & Danny Hayward. Photo: Carol Rosegg.

‘FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: MERRILY WE STOLE A SONG’: Nicole Vanessa Ortiz, Danny Hayward & Chris Collins-Pisano. Photo: Carol Rosegg.

‘FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: MERRILY WE STOLE A SONG’: Nicole Vanessa Ortiz. Photo: Carol Rosegg.

‘FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: MERRILY WE STOLE A SONG’: Danny Hayward & Chris Collins-Pisano. Photo: Carol Rosegg.

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