At the 25th Annual Putnam Count Spelling Bee...last night

So wednesday night i was really bored and i was thinking about visiting my cousin on the upper west side, but i couldnt get a hold of her. So, i decided to do wicked lottery, which i lost, so i decided to do spelling bee lottery which was kind of sad. i mean it was good for me because i won, but there werent that many people there. it was really nice to win since i never win spelling bee lottery. So i won. I was standing in line when i heard some girl ask this girl in front of me a question, which i will come to later. So i finally got into the show and sat down in my seat which was the small first bench right near the mic where the spellers spell. THAT IS THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE! Bench A 4! so i was reading through the playbill and waiting to find out if anyone cool was going to sit next to me. i was in a talkative mood. So, the girl came and sat next to me and she was really nice and chatty and a fiery little thing. Looked pretty young. I finally decided to ask her "Did I hear you say you're in Hairspray?" she says "Yes, I am the Tracy Turnblad understudy" Yep! Michelle Dowdy!!! so i was like um what the hell and i never relly checked out hairspray so i was istting there acting like i knew all about the show, by nodding my head and saying "yeah!" i was asking a million questions and she was super cool. I wasnt being some little annoying fan or something, i was just speaking actor to actor. so basically we talked about how she is only 19, and her audition for hairspray and for my school, and it was awesome she was super cool. oddly enough she got wait listed at my school, and wrote them a beautiful letter about how they could take her off the list because she was on broadway DUH! Who does this stuff happen to?!?!?! Michelle! anyway, she was absolutely amazing and we totally hit it off. it was odd watching the show because it was like i had been hanging out with a close friend. it was two fellow actors having enjoying an AH-MAZING SHOW!!! now onto the show...

So, Kate Weatherhead and todd Buonopasomethingorother were on tha night for Celia keenan Bolger and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. THEY WERE INCREDIBLE!!!!! ive seen the show before but wednesday nights show was the best i had ever seen it. everyone has been doing the show for so long that they just were completely relaxed and cracking jokes onstage the entire night. Michelle and i were on every single joke and just cracking up about everything! The cast members recognized her and said that her and i were the best audience members ever. The show is soooooooo funny, i mean if you've seen it once whats the big deal, right? um its still funny as hell. i was falling out the entire show. one of the audience member spellers was amazing and she got big props. i mea she was spelling the the HARDEST words ever. The last word she started to spell before getting buzzed out almost seemed made up, and she was spelling it right. you could see the shock on the faces of the cast members, but she finally got a letter wrong and got sent to her seat by the UBERTALENTED Comfort Counselor, Derrick Baskin! AHHHHHHHHHH HE IS AMAZING AND SOOOOOOOOO UNDERRATED! He was doing extra riffs and runs last night and his voice was completely dead on. EVERYONES VOICE WAS ON! Michelle would turn to me and say "Get Em!" because the cast was amazing. once again reminded why Dan Fogler won his tony award. Lisa howard is to die for, as is Kate Wetherhead! OMG KATE WETHERHEAD!!! the woman has a ridiculously amazing voice! She was an amazing Olive and her and dan fogler had soooooooo much chemistry. It was insane! The duet between her, lisa, and Derrick was the best i had ever heard or seen! it was just complete perfection! AND I LOVE CELIA! I REALLY DO! Ah! Just an amazing show! the entire show was perfect. its late so i cant think of anything else.

After the show Michelle and the cast members chatted and at that moment i felt like the odd ball which was totally ok! i was still awesome. Everyone thought we were like close friends because we were laughing and chatting the entire show. it was fun times. then we walked down to times square and i hopped on the subway and went my seperate way. i should have exchanged email addresses or something. anyway, i had fun and i made a new friend for a night. she invited me to see her in hairspray but i will be back in chicago doing my song and dance. Ah good times...

Anyone know how i could get a letter to her? i want to send a card to her dressing room but i am not sure how to go about that. i wish her the best.

WHO GETS CAST ON BROADWAY WITHOUT ANY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE BEFORE GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL, at the age of 18!!! AHHHHHHH! love it! life is good.

That's awesome!!! i love the theater community... it's so small . Just send a letter to the theater w/ her name at the top. They'll give it to her.

Updated On: 1/13/06 at 02:33 AM

Soulman---Now you need to join in the love on The Spelling Bee love thread. SOOO glad but not surprised that you had the best experience.
Interesting observation about Kate/Dan chemistry. Anyone else concur?
and yes--Somethingwicked--Dan just took a few weeks off in Nov. to do a film I think and happily has been back since.

What school was she wait-listed at?

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How wonderful that you got to meet and chat with Michelle! I had a chance to see her go on as Tracy on 12/3 and she was fantastic. I didn't realize she was that young!

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http://www.sptimes.com/2005/webspecials05/big-girl-now/

Here's the feature the St. Petersburg Times wrote on her. I found the link to this at BroadwayStars.com. I definitely cried when I read this...it's such a great story.

AH YES! DAN WAS BACK IN TOP FORM!!! He was absolutely amazing and both michelle and i agreed that he deserved his tony! Kate should definitely take over for Celia whenever Celia leaves the show, which i imagine will be sooner than we think. Everyone was really cool and i am definitely a fan of this show. i wanted to audition for the cast in Chicago but since its my first year this conservatory i am not allowed to audition outside yet. NEXT YEAR! oh....She got wait listed at my school which is Chicago College of Performing Arts @ Roosevelt University. Who cares??!?! SHE IS ON BROADWAY! DAH!!!!

just to let you know, soulman, the last audience speller always gets the hard word right.

the tour is starting in SF on valentines day

Musicmaniac,
You bring up an interesting phenomenon;how approachable Spelling Bee actors seem and how audience and actors interact so informally post-performance.
I think some of the familiarity is attributed to the intimacy of theater Certainly the "non divaness" of this incredibly warm cast plays into the mix but I also think it has to do with the way Spelling Bee totally breaks the fourth wall by making audience members part of the show.
What do you think?

hanging out with michelle the other night was really great because we were just having fun and enjoying a great show with a phenomenal cast. i'm an actor and she is as well so the connection is great. she just happens to be where i am trying to get to. The spelling be cast is just so amazing. they just have a great time onstage and the interaction with the audience pulls everyone in. its a really relaxed show. after the show its not even an autograph thing, its a conversation thing. i saw more people just chatting with the cast than asking them to sign something. what a humbled bunch of performers.