The Off-Broadway revival of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has announced its final two cast members: Tony Award nominee Lilli Cooper (Tootsie) and stage and screen actor Jason Kravits (The Drowsy Chaperone). They will be playing adult characters Rona Lisa Peretti and Vice Principal Douglas Panch.
They join the previously announced Tony nominee Justin Cooley (Kimberly Akimbo) as Leaf Coneybear, Kevin McHale (Glee) as William Barfée, Philippe Arroyo (& Juliet) as Chip Tolentino, Leana Rae Concepcion (Merrily We Roll Along) as Marcy Park, 2025 Tony nominee Jasmine Amy Rogers (BOOP!) as Olive Ostrovsky, Autumn Best (Woman of the Hour) as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, and Matt Manuel (Ain't Too Proud) as Mitch Mahoney. McHale, Arroyo, and Concepcion are all reprising their performances from this staging's earlier bow at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center.
Danny Mefford (Kimberly Akimbo) is directing, with performances to begin at Off-Broadway's New World Stages November 7, ahead of a November 17 opening night. The limited engagement, which marks the 20th anniversary of the 2005 musical, is scheduled to continue through February 15, 2026.
Also back from the Kennedy Center run will be costume designer Emily Rebholz, lighting designer David Weiner, and sound designer Haley Parcher. New for the Off-Broadway creative team is scenic designer Teresa L. Williams. Carmel Dean will serve as music supervisor, with music direction by Elizabeth Doran and general management by 321 Theatrical Management. Rachel Zucker will be production stage manager.
The musical, which premiered on Broadway in 2005 after an Off-Broadway run, features a Tony-winning book by Rachel Sheinkin (adapted from a play by Rebecca Feldman) and music and lyrics by the late two-time Tony winner William Finn. The work is set at a fictional middle school spelling bee, where a lovable band of misfits—plus a few lucky audience members—assemble to duke it out on their knowledge of word spellings and languages of origin. The show was a Best Musical nominee at the 2005 Tony Awards, winning for Sheinkin's book and original cast member Dan Fogler's featured performance.
The Off-Broadway return is being produced by Barbara Whitman, Aaron Glick, and Timothy Bloom, with co-producers James L. Nederlander, Patrick Catullo, Nancy Nagel Gibbs, and Rachel Sussman. The musical is being presented by special arrangement with David Stone.
See photos from the Kennedy Center run below.
