Kevin McHale to Lead the Cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The first batch of casting for the upcoming Off-Broadway revival of William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has been revealed. The cult favorite musical is making a NYC return at Off-Broadway's New World Stages beginning 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.

Directed and choreographed by Danny Mefford (Kimberly Akimbo), this new staging comes to New York following a run at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center.

And back from that D.C. run will be Kevin McHale (Glee) as William Barfée, making his NYC stage debut; Philippe Arroyo (& Juliet) as Chip Tolentino; and Leana Rae Concepcion (Merrily We Roll Along) as Marcy Park. New for this bow will be Kimberly Akimbo Tony nominee Justin Cooley as Leaf Coneybear. Further casting, by Geoff Josselson Casting, is to be announced.

TIckets will go on sale July 24 at 11 AM ET with registration at SpellingBeeNYC.com. General sales will begin July 25 at 10 AM ET.

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 will be scenic designer Teresa L. Williams. Carmel Dean will serve as music supervisor, with general management by 321 Theatrical Management.

The musical, which premiered on Broadway in 2005 after an Off-Broadway run, features a Tony-winning book by Sheinkin (adapted from a play by Rebecca Feldman) and music and lyrics by the late two-time Tony winner 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.

Visit SpellingBeeNYC.com.

See photos from the Kennedy Center run below.