Tuesday, August 10, 2010

News Release: Only Two Weeks Left To See The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Only Two Weeks Left To See
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
at American Heartland Theatre
Closes August 22nd, 2010

By William Finn, Rachel Sheinkin and Rebecca Feldman


Kansas City, MO: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at American Heartland Theatre opened on July 9th, 2010 to rave reviews. The Kansas City Star calls this adorable tale of six young people in the throes of puberty, "a very funny show but it contains just enough reality to become a poignant depiction of adolescence." The show's Tony Award-winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes for whom a spelling bee is the one place they can stand out and fit in at the same time. The Pitch Weekly agrees, proclaiming, "Spelling Bee attests to the power of the musical". Rated PG-13, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a light-hearted, feel-good show that prompts such easy-to-spell adjectives as charming, sweet, endearing and quirky, but may be best for mature audiences.

Four guest spellers, pre-selected from the audience, make every performance of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee an exciting one. Each speller competes along side the cast to win the coveted spelling bee trophy. Audience members can sign up to be spellers online at www.ahtkc.com or in person by signing up at the "Spelling Booth" in the theatre lobby 30 minutes prior to each production. American Heartland Theatre has already welcomed guest spellers from several local news stations, including Fox 4, KCTV5 and KMBC 9, and hopes to have more local celebrities compete in the Bee in the final weeks.


American Heartland Theatre brings this hilarious and touching musical comedy about trials of adolescence, competition, and trying to find your place in the world, with cast of talented actors under direction from Steven Eubank and Musical Direction from Anthony Edwards. Making their AHT debuts are Jermaine Blackwell (Mitch Mahoney), Jamie Lin (Marcy Park), Olivia Marsh (Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre), and Price Messick (Chip Tolentino). Adam Branson (Leaf Coneybear), Lauren Braton (Olive Ostrovsky), Michael Dragen (William Barfée), Colleen Grate (Rona Lisa Peretti) and Ken Remmert (Douglas Panch) are all returning to AHT for the second time in the 2009/2010 season.


Tickets can be ordered online at www.ahtkc.com or through the AHT Box Office at 816-842-9999. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee runs through August 22nd, 2010. Handicapped entry and seating, as well as assistive listening devices, are available at all performances. An ASL-interpreted performance is scheduled for Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 7:30PM.


The cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Photo by Shane Rowse.




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