Posted: 5/13/26 at 3:32am
I sometimes think I underrated the musical (which I had never seen before) when I caught in on my March trip. It’s filled with Broadway talent but is a great fit for New World Stages. There’s a ‘we’re not taking ourselves too seriously’ vibe that is thoroughly enjoyable. Plus, I had seen Death of a Salesman earlier in the day, so something light and silly was ideal for the evening show.
Posted: 5/14/26 at 8:41pm
Spelling Bee got cancelled tonight. Originally, all six covers were scheduled to be on tonight.
Posted: 5/15/26 at 8:44am
Does anyone think this production may end up becoming an open ended run?
Posted: 5/15/26 at 9:54am
It's totally possible. It could be another Little Shop situation
Posted: 5/15/26 at 10:03am
SomeOtherMe said: "Does anyone think this production may end up becoming an open ended run?"
It really depends if New World Stages wants something new in their space. I would think The Play That Goes Wrong might close first and they keep Spelling Bee going with various Broadway names entering the show.
Updated On: 5/15/26 at 10:03 AM
Posted: 5/15/26 at 11:58am
I love Spelling Bee. I've always thought that Andrew Lippa saw William Finn's eighties and nineties musicals and thought "I can do a mainstream version of that sound and aesthetic," and created the revised You're A Good Man Charlie Brown. And then William Finn saw THAT with his creative DNA all over it, and thought "If he can do William Finn for the masses, so can I," and birthed Spelling Bee.
Posted: 5/15/26 at 12:10pm
Trying to manifest Helen J Shen as a replacement Olive. You could even throw ABF in as Barfee as a package deal!
Posted: 5/15/26 at 12:29pm
I don't know how long it will run- it's doing well but it also hasn't been a hot ticket. And it's not an easily castable show like Little Shop that lends itself to bigger names. But it has fantastic word of mouth, which helps a lot. I don't know anybody who has seen it who hasn't adored it.
Posted: 5/15/26 at 1:27pm
As long as we're discussing New World Stages, this also makes me wonder how long Heathers will run for and if it will extend past September.
Posted: 5/15/26 at 2:13pm
Kad said: "I don't know how long it will run- it's doing well but it also hasn't been a hot ticket. And it's not an easily castable show like Little Shop that lends itself to bigger names. But it has fantastic word of mouth, which helps a lot. I don't know anybody who has seen it who hasn't adored it."
Between Panch and the guest spellers, it's also a WONDERFUL vehicle for publicity clips and comedy stunt casting. I imagine that goes a long way.
Posted: 6/4/26 at 6:48pm
Scripps Spelling Bee 2026 winner Shrey Parikh visits Putnam County
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8sjx6Ce/
Posted: 6/20/26 at 8:25pm
Sounds like Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez will be spelling tomorrow afternoon.
Posted: 6/20/26 at 8:49pm
quizking101 said: "Sounds like Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez will be spelling tomorrow afternoon.
This will be great!"
Posted: 6/20/26 at 10:00pm
witchoftheeast2 said: "As long as we're discussing New World Stages, this also makes me wonder how long Heathers will run for and if it will extend past September."
currently, neither Heathers or Spelling Bee are scheduled past Labor Day.
Posted: 6/22/26 at 10:14am
I finally saw this last week and wrote a whole review I thought posted, but alas, between-station cell service strikes again.
Anyway, I absolutely adored every second of it. Cecilia Snow and DeMarius Copes were on for Olive and Chip, and they were both excellent (particularly Snow, who nailed Olive’s necessary lovability and has a killer voice to boot). Standouts for me were Autumn Best’s Logainne and Justin Cooley’s Leaf, but the casting is really perfect across the board.
More than anything, I loved the sincerity that Danny Mefford approached the material with. Where the original production counterbalanced the sweetness with cartoonish zaniness, this one feels like it’s all heart. As much as I loved the OBC, it often felt like the big “joke” was that these are adults playing kids; here, I just saw kids doing a thing they love. (I felt this the most in the direction of Logainne and Leaf, which is probably why those two resonated with me so strongly.) It makes the whole thing feel like a big, warm hug.
