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Former Broadway musical 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' concludes Eastern's spring theatre season

Extended showing over 2 weekends, April 20-23 and April 27-30

Willimantic, CT (04/05/2023) — Eastern Connecticut State University's Theatre and Performance Media Program is debuting its final show of the 2022-23 school year, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." The show will play for two consecutive weekends, April 20-23 and April 27-30.

Following the comedic mission of six middle school-aged students vying for the spelling bee championship, audiences will watch as students learn to deal with pressure, idiosyncratic adults and puberty. Originally written as a book by Rachel Sheinkin, the musical was conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss and was originally directed on Broadway by James Lapine. The music and lyrics were written by William Finn.

Eastern's rendition of the musical is directed by Tim Golebiewski, an Eastern lecturer and lighting technology specialist, with musical direction by Melanie Guerin and choreography by Amber Houde '22 and Cassie Champagne '22.

While most performances of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" are suitable for all audiences, Friday and Saturday evening performances are "adult nights" and recommended for audiences 16 and up.

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" will be presented in the Fine Arts Instructional Center's Proscenium Theatre on April 20 at 5:30 p.m.; April 21, 22, 27, 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m.; and April 23 and 30 at 4 p.m.

Tickets are free for Eastern students; $5 for other students and groups of 10 or more; $10 for senior citizens; $12 for Eastern faculty, staff and alumni, and $20 for the general public. Tickets are on sale now at https://easternct.showare.com/putnam/ .

For more information about this production and for links to our ticketing website and Eastern student ticket registration, please visit: https://www.easternct.edu/theatre/productions/putnam.html .

Eastern students can reserve their free ticket (upon completion of a short survey). To reserve your Eastern student ticket visit https://forms.gle/7HwmenqmiMgArXsJA .

For reservations, phone the FAIC Box Office at (860) 465-5123 or email theatreboxoffice@easternct.edu .

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