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Clearly, the characters in "Spelling Bee" are extremely exaggerated in their quirks for the sake of comedy. However, in instances such as "The I Love You Song" and "I'm Not That Smart", these characters appeal to the empathy of the audience in a really unique and honest way. By the end, the audience begins to really like these characters, despite their exaggerated personalities and often annoying character voices.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FerGq1aPb1I

1:01:32 - 1:02:57

In his Tony Award acceptance speech, Dan Folger (William Barfee) ends with... "We did it with this hair, and in this body! Be brave! Be different!"

This sums up the attitude and message of the show perfectly.

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The most pertinent connection I found is "Spelling Bee"s overwhelming message of the importance of celebrating differences. Although these characters are made for the sake of comedy and are thoroughly made fun of throughout the show, the show never insinuates that there is something wrong with them. "Spelling Bee's" tone is ultimately the acceptance and celebration of uniqueness, this clear message greatly differentiates the show from others. Overall, it is a sweet story with endearing characters (on top of an extremely funny and fast paced show).

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Six quirky adolescents (William Barfee, Leaf Coneybear, Chip Tolentino, Marcy Park, Olive Ostrovsky, Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre) compete in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, run by three equally quirky grown-ups (Vice Principal Douglas Panch, Rona Lisa Peretti, Mitch Mahoney).

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Nominated:
-Tony Best Featured Actress in a Musical - Celia Keenan-Bolger (Olive Ostrovsky)
-Tony Best Direction of a Musical - James Lapine
-Tony Best Original Score - William Finn
-Tony Best Musical

Won:
-Tony Best Featured Actor in a Musical - Dan Folger (William Barfee)
-Tony Best Book of a Musical - Rachel Sheinkin
-Drama Desk Award Outstanding Ensemble Performance
-Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - James Lapine
-Drama Desk Award Outstanding Book of a Musical - Rachel Sheinkin

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Disney plans on turning "Spelling Bee" into a movie musical :(

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Disney plans on turning "Spelling Bee" into a movie musical :(

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https://www.broadway.com/buzz/200673/disney-to-turn-broadways-the-25th-annual-putnam-county-spelling-bee-into-movie-musical/

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The Broadway cast of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"
(Photo: Joan Marcus)

Disney is making a movie musical adaptation of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, who produced the blockbuster-hit live-action Aladdin remake, are set to produce. Ryan Halprin, who appeared in a college production of the musical, serves as executive producer.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee follows several competitors with diverse backstories who are competing in a spelling bee. The musical features a score by William Finn and a book by Rachel Sheinkin. The tuner is based on Rebecca Feldman's improv play C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E. James Lapine directed the Tony-nominated 2005 Broadway production.

The original Broadway cast featured Dan Fogler, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Lisa Howard, Deborah S. Craig, Jose Llana, Jay Reiss, Sarah Saltzberg and Derrick Baskin. It garnered six Tony nominations and won Best Book of a Musical and Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Fogler.

More information, including additional creative team, casting and a production timeline, will be announced later.

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Disney to Turn Broadway's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee into Movie Musical

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The Broadway cast of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" (Photo: Joan Marcus) Disney is making a movie musical adaptation of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, according to The Hollywood Reporter , Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, who produced the blockbuster-hit live-action Aladdin remake, are set to produce.

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Music & Lyrics - William Finn
Book - Rachel Sheinkin

Originally based on a play titled "C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E" by Rebecca Feldman (preformed by The Farm, a NYC Improv Comedy Group)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL36105AFAA7D48252

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The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

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The tracks from the original Broadway Soundtrack.

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Audience Participation (Tony Awards 2005)

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Audience Participation (Tony Awards 2005)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZthti8hqLU
In each performance of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee", Rona Lisa Peretti (the host of the Bee) calls up willing audience members, who sit onstage and must spell words until they are eliminated.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq9cDdN9orA
Olive must spell the word "chimerical" (meaning highly unrealistic), she imagines her absent parents telling her they love her. This is probably the most iconic and heartbreaking song from the show.

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25th Annual Putnam Cnty Spelling Bee - The I Love You Song

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Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre ("Woe is Me")

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Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre ("Woe is Me")

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HPeaKx33O4
Logainne, the Bee's youngest contestant who speaks with a lisp, struggles to live up to the expectations of her overbearing dads.

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The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - Original Off Broadway Cast - Woe is Me

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https://youtu.be/nthnxOejAfw
Marcy is the ultimate over-achiever and is also not allowed to cry. Here, she lists all of her extremely impressive accolades and abilities, specifically being able to speak 6 languages.

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I Speak Six Languages + Marcy's Epiphany

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Chip Tolentino ("My Unfortunate Erection")

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Chip Tolentino ("My Unfortunate Erection")

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jqQh93LDpQ
Chip, last year's champion and boy scout, is eliminated from the Bee when he gets an erection at an inopportune time. He is then in charge of selling concessions.

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Jose Llana - "My Unfortunate Erection" (Spelling Bee)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp-p1Y_PHI0
Leaf, who is homeschooled and often portrayed as having Attention Deficit Disorder, does not expect to spell any words correctly, but he goes into a trance and spells the words correctly.

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Jesse Tyler Ferguson sings I'm Not That Smart + lyrics

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https://youtu.be/MvnLHUsOA08
William Barfee (pronounced Bar-FAY) wins the Spelling Bee at the end of the show with his signature method of spelling the word with his foot before he speaks it.

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"Magic Foot" from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqPTbBuPoxA

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EXCLUSIVE: Highlights From the Spelling Bee Original Cast Reunion Concert

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Original Cast Reunion / Behind the scenes look:
- 16:25 (origin/creation of the show)
- 21:40 (how the Original Cast members got involved)
- 55:00 (funny discussion about the dancing in the show)
- 58:31 (audience interaction)
- 1:05:20 ("The Dirty Bee")
- 1:06:08 (Dan Fogler's Tony Award Speech)
- 1:07:30 (Thanksgiving Day Parade performance)
- 1:10:25 (A Spelling Bee!)
- 1:17:14 (Lisa Howard, Rona Lisa Pertetti, sings "I Have Found", a William Finn song)

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25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE Cast Reunion|Stars In The House, Friday, 9/25  at 7PM ET

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http://www.jencaprio.com/broadway
Jen Caprio - Costume Designer for Original Broadway Cast

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THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE - Broadway - JEN CAPRIO COSTUME DESIGN

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THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE April 2005 Theatre Owned / Operated by Circle in the Square (under the direction of Theodore Mann and Paul Libin) Produced by David Stone , James L. Nederlander , Barbara Whitman , Patrick Catullo , Barrington

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Workshopped in 2004 at the Barrington Stage Company

Opened Off-Broadway in January 25, 2005 at the Second Stage Theater

Premiered on Broadway on April 15, 2005 at the Circle in the Stage Theater
(closed on January 20, 2008)

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SYNOPSIS: The tale of several socially awkward youngsters finding joy, heartache and a purpose in competing at the regional spelling bee features a score by William Finn and a book by Rachel Sheinkin.

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The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Broadway, Circle in the Square Theatre, 2005)

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SYNOPSIS: The tale of several socially awkward youngsters finding joy, heartache and a purpose in competing at the regional spelling bee features a score by William Finn and a book by Rachel Sheinkin.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/03/theater/reviews/six-misfits-test-wits-on-bigger-platform.html

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Theater Review | 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'

In the long, exhausting reality show formerly known as life, which cannot be traversed with the aid of TiVo, there are peaks and there are valleys. Qualifying as traditional high points are weddings and children's birthdays, career triumphs, the day you bought those jeans that actually flatter. Adolescence, in its entirety, is generally considered prime valley material.

Certainly, the middle-school days must be dark for the six young misfits testing their wits in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," the effortlessly endearing new musical that opened on Broadway at Circle in the Square last night after a successful run Off Broadway at the Second Stage Theater.

William Barfee is saddled with a chronic sinus condition, a last name that invites pointed mispronunciation (it's supposed to rhyme with parfait, thank you), and a deluded belief that he looks O.K. in shorts. Marcy Park suffers from secret dismay at her own outrageous capability. Who really wants to speak six languages if you can't meet a boy in any of them? Then there's Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, perhaps the most abjectly afflicted: pigtails at an inappropriately advanced age, a mortifying lisp and two gay dads to boot.

And yet a taste of life's glory is not outside the reach of even these miniature eccentrics and their equally odd competitors: mousy Olive Ostrovsky, the permanently flushed Leaf Coneybear and Chip Tolentino, the Boy Scout who has just earned his badge for raging hormones. A trophy from a spelling bee may not carry the social cachet of the homecoming queen's tiara, but small victories are the best most of us can hope for in life, right?

In any case, it's the more private but enduring triumphs - the connection finally made with a member of the opposite sex, the discovery of previously unknown pockets of self-esteem - that are really being celebrated in "Spelling Bee," which itself has graduated with honors from the local competition to the divisional championships. The happy news for this happy-making little show is that the move to larger quarters has dissipated none of its quirky charm.

In fact, the musical has managed to make lemonade from one of Broadway's most lemony spaces. The dreary basement lobby of the Circle in the Square always has, come to think of it, resembled the cinderblock nightmare of a prefab junior high slapped together in the 1960's. Plastering it with peppy posters promoting the French club, and plaques commemorating the mock achievements of the show's creative team, the set designer Beowulf Boritt invests an antiseptic space with cheesy warmth. (Little James Lapine, now a big-shot Broadway director, got the Dewey Decimal Award from the Putnam Librarians Association.) The theater itself, with its rows of steeply raked seats arrayed like bleachers on three sides, has been cleverly transformed into a mock gymnasium, with a basketball court stenciled on a scuffed wooden floor.

Like much else about this lovingly hand-stitched musical, the atmospheric décor should be cute to the point of cloying, but somehow it isn't. Likewise, the recruitment of audience volunteers of all ages to join in the competition still inspires delighted chuckles and palpable suspense, not squirms of irritation. At the reviewed performance, when the last surviving civilian, a shy-looking tyke with shaggy hair, skipped a syllable or two in his last word, the audience slumped and sighed in unison.

Most crucially, the affectionate performances of the six actors burdened with the daunting challenge of inhabiting young souls have not been stretched into grotesque shape by the move to a large theater. Space doesn't permit me to celebrate them individually, as I probably should. But focus on any one of these talented performers, anxiously looking on as a competitor faces down a polysyllabic curveball, and you'll see the twitchy behavior of a real youngster, not actors self-consciously aping youthful mannerisms. Lisa Howard and Jay Reiss, meanwhile, who play the perky but unbending administrators of the bee, are no less skilled at finding the honorable qualities in more mature geekdom.

William Finn's score sounds plumper and more rewarding than it did Off Broadway. If it occasionally suggests a Saturday morning television cartoon set to music by Stephen Sondheim, that's not inappropriate. And Mr. Finn's more wistful songs provide a nice sprinkling of sugar to complement the sass in Rachel Sheinkin's zinger-filled book. Ms. Sheinkin sets off a new comic firecracker every time a contestant furrows a brow and asks to hear a word used in a sentence, in accordance with the rigid bee rules: "Sally's mother told her it was her cystitis that made her special."

As befits a detail-oriented past master of the Dewey Decimal System, in refitting "Spelling Bee" for a larger theater, Mr. Lapine has sharpened all the musical's elements without betraying its appealing modesty. "Spelling Bee" is not extravagant in its aims, but it lives up to its goals in a way that the season's bigger, glitzier and more ambitious musicals mostly don't. Gold stars all around!
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Music and lyrics by William Finn; book by Rachel Sheinkin; conceived by Rebecca Feldman; additional material by Jay Reiss; based on "C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E," an original play by the Farm; directed by James Lapine; choreographed by Dan Knechtges; set design by Beowulf Boritt; costumes by Jennifer Caprio; lighting by Natasha Katz; sound by Dan Moses Schreier; orchestrations by Michael Starobin; music director, Vadim Feichtner; vocal arrangements, Carmel Dean; music coordinator, Michael Keller; production stage manager, Andrea (Spook) Testani; production manager, Kai Brothers; general management, 321 Theatrical Management. Presented by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo, Barrington Stage Company and Second Stage Theater. At the Circle in the Square Theater, 254 West 50th Street, Manhattan; (212) 239-6200. Running time: 1 hour and 45 minutes.

WITH: Derrick Baskin (Mitch Mahoney), Deborah S. Craig (Marcy Park), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Leaf Coneybear), Dan Fogler (William Barfee), Lisa Howard (Rona Lisa Peretti), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Olive Ostrovsky), Jose Llana (Chip Tolentino), Jay Reiss (Douglas Panch) and Sarah Saltzberg (Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre).

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Six Misfits Test Wits on Bigger Platform (Published 2005)

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Theater Review | 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' In the long, exhausting reality show formerly known as life, which cannot be traversed with the aid of TiVo, there are peaks and there are valleys. Qualifying as traditional high points are weddings and children's birthdays, career triumphs, the day you bought those jeans that actually flatter.