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Henkel Construction and North Iowa Area Community College are pleased to sponsor the Tony Award-winning musical comedy The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will take the stage at the North Iowa Community Auditorium on Tuesday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are on sale now and cost $39 in advance or $45 at the door.

In The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn’t everything and that losing doesn’t necessarily make you a loser.  This tuneful, offbeat and at times heartwarming show offers audience members the opportunity (strictly voluntary) to become part of the action as on-stage spellers. 

Can you spell i-r-r-e-s-i-s-t-i-b-l-e? The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is riotously funny and remarkably ingenious. “Gold stars all around,” says the New York Times.  In the Wall Street Journal, Spelling Bee was called, “perfect in every possible way – that rarity of rarities, a super-smart musical that is also a bona fide crowd-pleaser. An ingenious blend of simplicity and sophistication, it’s not merely funny, it's wise.” 

No one can predict where a musical comes from. Classic novels and popular movies have been sources, and real life experiences have found themselves placed into musical settings – but a spelling bee?  For Bill Finn, it began with a phone call from his friend, playwright Wendy Wasserstein, whose babysitter had been performing an improvised piece, entitled c-r-e-p-u-s-c-u-l-e.  Wasserstein thought this would be the perfect gem for a musical comedy. After watching a videotape of it, Finn agreed. With the enlistment of Rachel Sheinkin, they set about developing the piece, originally conceived by Rebecca Feldman, into a full-length show.

Spelling Bee had its world premiere production in July 2004 at Barrington Stage Company, Sheffield, Massachusetts.  Under the direction of James Lapine, Spelling Bee officially opened Off-Broadway on February 7, 2005 at Second Stage Theatre, where it ran from January 11 through March 20, 2005.  The show then moved to Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre, with previews beginning on April 15, 2005 and an official opening on May 2, 2005.  The Broadway production closed January 20, 2008.  Spelling Bee is produced by Phoenix Entertainment.

With its enormously appealing cast of lovable misfits, nerds, and neurotics (no jocks), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee hilariously, tunefully – and perfectly – captures the angst, exhilaration, and heartache that makes growing up so painful and so wonderful.  The tunes somehow manage to delve deep into the childhood psyche while simultaneously appearing to be spontaneous extensions of adolescent frustration.  All of this accomplished with the funniest lyrics Broadway has heard in a long time.

For tickets to The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, call the NIACC Box Office at 1-888-466-4222, ext. 4188.  Tickets may also be purchased online at www.niacc.edu.  Not advised for children.

Platinum sponsors for the 2008-2009 series include NIACC, Globe Gazette Elizabeth Muse Norris Charitable Fund; the Globe Gazette; Alliant Energy; Community National Bank; Henkel Construction; and Principal Financial Group.  Gold sponsors include Diamond Jo Casino; First Citizens National Bank; First State Bank of Belmond; Kraft; Mercy Medical Center – North Iowa; Martin, Cooney, MacNider & Cooney, Financial Consultants of Raymond James and Associates, Inc.; Dr. Gary W. Swenson and Dean A. Genth; and Sukup Manufacturing.  In kind sponsors include Country Inn and Suites; KIMT; and Pepsi.

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