Spelling Bee Revival Gets Another Extension Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway's new revival of William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is getting another round with a second extension at New World Stages. The musical is now sticking around through September 6.

The limited engagement, which marks the 20th anniversary of the 2005 musical, opened November 16, 2025. Danny Mefford (Kimberly Akimbo) is directing. See what critics had to say about the revival here.

The cast boasts Justin Cooley (Kimberly Akimbo) as Leaf Coneybear, Kevin McHale (Glee) as William Barfée, Lilli Cooper (Tootsie) as Rona Lisa Peretti, Jason Kravits (The Drowsy Chaperone) as Vice Principal Douglas Panch, 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.

Also back from the Kennedy Center run are 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 serves as music supervisor, with music direction by Elizabeth Doran and general management by 321 Theatrical Management. Rachel Zucker is production stage manager.

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 produced by Barbara Whitman, Aaron Glick, and Timothy Bloom, with co-producers James L. Nederlander, Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Debra Martin Chase, Rachel Sussman, Patrick Catullo, and Ryan Solomon. The musical is presented by special arrangement with David Stone.

Click here for tickets.