By Matthew Wexler
It’s been 20 years since The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee premiered on Broadway. Now competing in a more intimate Off-Broadway space at New World Stages, the eager contestants have maintained their youthful innocence and pre-teen social angst—and for the most part, have left Gen Alpha idiosyncrasies at the gymnasium door.
Creators William Finn (music and lyrics) and Rachel Sheinkin (book) adapted Rebecca Feldman’s concept, a devised work by the improv troupe The Farm. The result is a quirky musical that at once leans into and dismantles childhood stereotypes.
The original cast boasted early career performances by Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and a Tony win for Dan Fogler as the arrogant, foot-spelling William Barfée (pronounced bar-FAY), here played by Glee alum Kevin McHale.
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Director-choreographer Danny Mefford has assembled an endearing cast, each of whom captures the awkwardness of growing bodies and minds. Standouts include Justin Cooley as the eternally optimistic Leaf Coneybear, and Jasmine Amy Rogers (straight from her Tony-nominated performance in BOOP! The Musical) as latchkey kid Olive Ostrovsky.
Lilli Cooper as the longtime Bee host and former contestant, and Jason Kravits as Vice Principal Douglas Panch, keep the show’s improv origins intact, welcoming a new crop of audience participants for each performance. The light-hearted spontaneity balances Spelling Bee’s more touching and vulnerable moments.
Out-of-body sequences appear as a glottal stop in the Bee’s chronological flow, but invite us toward a greater understanding beyond philology. (Want that used in a sentence? A Spelling Bee demands amateur philology from its young contestants, who parse roots and etymologies under pressure.) Particularly haunting is “The I Love You Song,” sung by Olive after receiving the word “Chimerical” (“Unreal. Imaginary. Visionary.”), which ignites her desperate need for parental love.
Spelling Bee packs plenty of wordplay into its hour and 40-minute runtime, but there’s only one you need to remember: J. O. Y.
It wants better content.
Fast facts: ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’
Twenty years later, this charming Off-Broadway revival proves Spelling Bee‘s blend of silly wordplay and surprising heart remains unbeatable.
- New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, New York City
- Running time: One hour and 40 minutes, no intermission
- Performances through April 12, 2026
