I saw both in the same weekend, Spelling Bee with most of its original cast and Drowsy with its original cast.
Spelling Bee- its retained its "sparkle" if you will without the original cast whereas word on the street is that Drowsy has not.
Spelling Bee is also different every time you see it.
Stand-by Joined: 7/10/06
Spelling Bee, most definitely.
Broadway Star Joined: 3/25/04
I would say Drowsy if only to see the performances of Beth and Danny----
drowsy was my favorite show back when the originals were there... i still say see drowsy... the spelling bee tour is spreading itself around... but then again so is drowsy... still i heard that spelling bee is a wreck currently... everyone trying too hard
Drowsy is a good musical, and still has a great cast.
Spelling Bee is not, and still has a great cast.
IMO.
Drowsy's closing sooner. If I remember right, Spelling Bee is going about a month longer...so try to catch them both if you want to see them.
Spelling Bee!
It's the funniest show on Broadway and it's insanely entertaining.
Drowsy. I honestly did not like Spelling Bee's current cast.
I'm surprised to see how many people like Spelling Bee over Drowsy. I thought it was cute, but that was about it...
Leading Actor Joined: 3/13/07
Spelling Bee - if you're in the mood for something that's more than fluff. I thought Drowsy was okay -- not amazing -- and found the songs kinda blah and alot of the humor fell flat with me. Spelling Bee, on the other hand, has some great songs and the cast (that I saw anyway) was really good.
Featured Actor Joined: 5/17/06
Both are great but I would say the current Drowsy cast is better.
I really didn't like Bee. I saw it twice, because after the first time my friend said it was the funniest thing ever, and it must have been an off night. So i went back with another cast, and again I just didn't find it funny. I would see Drowsy!
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/3/06
dont discriminate against either shows, see them both!!!!!
both are totally worth it, and do lottery/rush for both... not extremely busy lotterys.
I Agree
I would say Drowsy, but they recently launched the tour, so the tour might be around longer than the Spelling Bee tour. I haven't seen exact dates, so I'm not sure of this. See if Drowsy has a show coming to your area, and if so, go with Bee. If not, see Drowsy, most definitely.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/14/04
I think it is a win-win situation, but I would have to give the edge to Bee. Drowsy has a lot of really funny parts, but Bee really had me rolling - I feel like older folks generally prefer the humor of Drowsy, while younger people click more with the humor of Bee. In my opinion, the music from Drowsy is completely forgettable, while it is hard to resist the catchy tunes in Bee. Also, if you see Bee, you are pretty much guaranteed a great seat, as the theatre is so small - not necessarily the case for Drowsy. Finally, by the end of the night, Bee has some truly touching, sometimes heart-breaking moments revealed through the children's home lives, personal relations, and insecurities. My heart really broke for some of the characters in Bee. Drowsy just left me feeling good ( which is definately not a bad thing).
So again, win-win, but I'd say go for Bee if you don't have time to see both.
Drowsy. I was bored to tears during Bee. Check out the amazing new cast in Drowsy and still get to marvel at Beth's greatness.
I saw both with their original casts, and thought they were pretty boring. Saw BEE in November and thought it was amazing.
BEE all the way!
Leading Actor Joined: 12/18/05
I've heard Bob Saget is terrible.
I've never seen Spelling Bee before, but I'm seeing it on the 30th, and from what I have seen and heard from it, it's probably the better choice. And there's always the tour of Drowsy, which might have better casting.
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