The Bee is coming to Boston.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will play the woefully underused Wilbur Theater for what looks like an extended stay starting September 26, 2006. Tickets go on sale to the general public on July 30th, but the Huntington Theater has arranged for "friends of the Huntington" to get advanced tickets through Ticketmaster (617-931-2787 or www.ticketmaster.com). Just enter the code HTC when you place your order. No discount, but you get first shot at the best seats, and a portion of the proceeds go to help the Huntington do its theater thing.
Simply put, you must see this show. It's absolutely hysterical, but it's also very touching. I recently saw it again, and the show gets richer with repeated viewings, especially William Finn's rich and accessible score, Rachel Sheinkin's smart and funny book, and James Lapine's subtle and sharp direction.
Of course, I must confess a bias. The first time I saw the show I was one of the audience members called up to participate in the bee. It was a blast. At the risk of self-aggrandizement, I must relate that I was the last audience member eliminated. In fact, they had to break out a special list of killer words to get me off stage:
"Spell 'ouabain'"
"Could I have a definition, please?"
"It's a poison derived from African tree frogs used at the end of blow darts."
"Could I have it in a sentence?"
"Spell 'ouabain' wrong so we can get on with the frigging show."
But now that I've seen the show again, I think I can be reasonably objective. Well, as objective as any theater queen can be when discussing musical theater.
Go see this show.
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