Spelling Bee Opens Tonight

Iowa City - The Iowa City Community Theatre's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee opens tonight. It's a musical about six young people in the throes of puberty spelling their hearts out while being overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves. They learn that winning isn’t everything and that losing doesn’t necessarily make you a loser. It was a hit on Broadway in 2005 and won two Tony Awards, including Best Book. 

The cast: 
MITCH MAHONEY – John Bednarik 
RONA LISA PERRETTI – Krista Neumann 
VP DOUGLAS PANCH – Mike Wilhelm 
CHIP TOLENTINO – Jon Davies 
WILLIAM BARFEE – Adam Nardidi 
LEAF CONEYBEAR – Brett Borden 
OLIVE OSTROVSKY – Emmy Palmershiem 
LOGIANNE SCHWARTZANDGRUBENNIERE – Stephanie Fahey 
MARCY PARK – Lindsay Raasch 

Director Ken Van Egdon has assembled a great cast for the show. You might remember Brett Borden from a very different role, George in Of Mice and Men. However, he has comedic chops as well, as he showed in area productions of Noises Off and A Year with Frog and Toad. Krista Neumann has directed many shows in recent years, including Annie and most recently Camo: The Musical! Emmy Palmershiem is probably more recognizable to Cedar Rapids audiences, where she graced the stage in such shows as Jake's Women, Eurydice, and August Osage County. You might remember Mike Wilhelm from Camo: The Musical! or from such TCR shows as Damn Yankees and Gross Indecency. Both Mike and Emmy were singled out for outstanding performances in 2011. The show runs through March 7. Tickets are available here.