Dunn to guest star in award-winning ‘Spelling Bee’

By Alyssa Herter
Western Herald

It’s not often that you can watch the president of a university perform in a Tony Award-winning musical.

That will be the case this Thursday when Western Michigan University President John M. Dunn will take the stage at Miller Auditorium in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

Also appearing as a celebrity guest in the show is Kalamazoo Gazette film critic James Sanford, who will play in the Wednesday show.

“Spelling Bee” chronicles six youngsters battling puberty, and the lessons they learn about winning, loosing and everything in-between.

For this group of misfits, the spelling bee is the place where they can truly shine, and feel on the inside of something for once rather than their outcast norm. For the quirky troupe, winning seems like
the answer to their problems, but realizing that losing does not equal “loser” might be the most important thing taken away from their fight for the crown of best speller.

“I think it’s a really cute looking musical. The concept of children spelling and singing about it, can’t go wrong with that … it just seems really cute, fun, young,” said WMU junior Jessica McPherson.

The shows origins come from the straight-play “C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E,” created by New York City’s Farm improv group. The musical version was re-titled, and includes music and lyrics by Tony Award-winner William Finn and a Tony Award-winning book by Rachel Sheinkin.

The New York Times said of the witty and charming musical, “Can you spell i-r-r-e-s-i-s-t-i-b-l-e? ‘Spelling Bee’ is riotously funny and remarkably ingenious. Gold stars all around.”

“Spelling Bee” premiered in workshop at the Barrington Stage Company in Sheffield, Mass. in July 2004. The show then moved to New York’s off-Broadway circuit at the Second Stage Theatre, and opened on Broadway May 2, 2005 at the Circle in the Square Theatre.

In 2005, it won a Tony for Best Book of a Musical and Best Featured Actor. The show just closed this January after a successful four-and-a-half year run on the Great White Way.

A fun and highly unique factor about “Spelling Bee” is the opportunity for integral audience participation. Through pre-show questionnaires and interviews, four new contestants are chosen from the audience before every performance. These volunteers form another group of on-stage spellers, adding their own flavor to the show. This element of “Spelling Bee” means that every single performance
is different from the one before it.

The show’s stop at Miller Auditorium is part of the Broadway in West Michigan Series. Tickets are available at the Miller Auditorium box office and range between $25 and $50. The shows this Wednesday and Thursday both begin at 7:30 p.m.

“I think people should go see it, children, adults, people of all ages; it’s a family show, we need more of those,” McPherson said.

For a laugh-filled romp in the angst of teenage geekdom, guest appearances by local celebrities and possibly your own stage debut, don’t miss “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” when it stops by Kalamazoo this week.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Apr 20 2009. Filed under A & E. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
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