Beanie Feldstein & More to Star in SPELLING BEE at Kennedy Center

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 10:10am

Directed and choreographed by Danny Mefford (Kimberly Akimbo, Dear Evan Hansen) with musical direction by Roberto Sinha (New York, New York; Hamilton), the all-star cast includes Philippe Arroyo (& Juliet, Aladdin) as Chip Tolentino, Beanie Feldstein (Drive-Away Dolls, Booksmart) as Logan Schwartzandgrubenierre, Noah Galvin (Dear Evan Hansen, Booksmart) as Leaf Coneybear, Alex Joseph Grayson (Parade, Into the Woods) as Mitch Mahoney, Taran Killam (Spamalot, Saturday Night Live) as Vice Principal Douglas Panch, Kevin McHale (Glee, American Horror Stories) as William Barfee, Tony Award® winner Bonnie Milligan (Kimberly Akimbo, Encores! Titanic) as Rona Lisa Peretti, Nina White (Queen of Versailles, Kimberly Akimbo) as Olive Ostrovsky, and Anna Zavelson (Encores! The Light in the Piazza, 13 Reasons Why) as Marcy Park. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee plays the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater October 11–20, 2024.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 10:17am

That cast is frigging delightful, wow

[inception]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 10:21am

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 10:21am

Oh wow, that cast IS delightful. I need to see this one.

[greensgreens]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 10:23am

I'm so glad Beanie is back in what will surely be a more successful venture for her! I was genuinely thinking we wouldn't see her again onstage, which would've been a real shame. The rest of the cast looks aces too. May be the best cast one could assemble for this following the original B'way one! Do we think a transfer might be possible?

[Kad]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 10:28am

Bonnie Milligan as Rona!! Cannot wait to hear her sing the **** out of that track. 

Updated On: 8/29/24 at 10:28 AM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 10:28am

greensgreens said: "Do we think a transfer might be possible?"

a transfer is always possible for the right show but just because a cast & show appeals to niche theatre folk doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to appeal to the masses. Sometimes actors also say yes to something for 2 weeks out of town that they’d never agree to do for 9 months in New York. We shall see!

Spelling Bee could be fun off-broadway with a rotating cast, Little Shop style. It’s such a small show I wonder how it will be in the cavernous KC.

Updated On: 8/29/24 at 10:28 AM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 10:36am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "greensgreens said: "Do we think a transfer might be possible?"

a transfer is always possible for the right show but just because a cast & show appeals to niche theatre folk doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to appeal to the masses. Sometimes actors also say yes to something for 2 weeks out of town that they’d never agree to do for 9 months in New York. We shall see!

Spelling Bee could be fun off-broadway with a rotating cast, Little Shopstyle. It’s such a small show I wonder how it will be in the cavernous KC."

I assume it will be at the Eisenhower, which has less than 1/2 the seats of the larger theatre.  It is still not small, and its balcony is set back very far.  Not a terrible venue for this show, however.  Have to admit that I really disliked this show, but the cast sounds really good.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 11:07am

Great casting

[ACL2006]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 12:07pm

My goodness, that's an amazing cast!

[cglaid]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 12:31pm

Am I the only one who is extremely disappointed by this cast? Spelling Bee is one of my favorite shows and I even started planning a trip there, but now have no interest. I'm glad I didn't buy my tickets before the cast was revealed. It feels like it will be the "Beanie (and the husband of her best friend) Show" and everybody else is just meh (except for Bonnie - who, like another poster said, will sing the h*ll out of this). 

[barcelona20]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 12:42pm

cglaid said: "Am I the only one who is extremely disappointed by this cast? Spelling Bee is one of my favorite shows and I even started planning a trip there, but now have no interest. I'm glad I didn't buy my tickets before the cast was revealed. It feels like it will be the "Beanie (and the husband of her best friend) Show"and everybody else is just meh (except for Bonnie - who, like another poster said, will sing the h*ll out of this)."

Bonnie will be amazing. Taram will be hilarious. Alex will slay the riffs. Top three reasons to see it.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 12:51pm

cglaid said: "Am I the only one who is extremely disappointed by this cast? Spelling Bee is one of my favorite shows and I even started planning a trip there, but now have no interest. I'm glad I didn't buy my tickets before the cast was revealed. It feels like it will be the "Beanie (and the husband of her best friend) Show"and everybody else is just meh (except for Bonnie - who, like another poster said, will sing the h*ll out of this)."

 

Yes.  You are the only one.

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 1:00pm

cglaid said: "the "Beanie (and the husband of her best friend) Show""

Beanie has been a great ensemble player on screen and in DOLLY. I have no doubt that at a bare minimum she'll be solid in this role but more likely wonderful. After the experience she had in FUNNY GIRL, returning to theatre outside of New York and in a supporting role in a good ensemble is a great way to dip her toe back in.

Hopefully we'll see her on the New York stage again soon in a role suited to her talents!

[Kad]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 1:12pm

The only casting I'm unsure about here is Kevin McHale as Barfee.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 1:17pm

Kad said: "The only casting I'm unsure about here is Kevin McHale as Barfee."

Yeah...completely fine and valid to move beyond the "fat kid" stuff from the original, but I can think of a lot of other funny guys who'd kill in that role.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 3:52pm

Noah Galvin was one of the best parts of THEATER CAMP last year.

I don't really care who's friends with who or who's married to who or whose parents did what or what social circles they travel in. They're all working actors.

I don't know what it is about Beanie that makes some people online spiral out.

[Kad]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 4:45pm

Ermengarde is a knowledgeable and exceedingly civil member here. They can post as much as they like and you can find a way to deal with it.

Updated On: 8/29/24 at 04:45 PM

[HenryTDobson]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 5:12pm

Love this cast! A transfer is unlikely but I would love to see it.

[SmokeyLady]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 5:30pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Noah Galvin was one of the best parts of THEATER CAMP last year.

I don't really care who's friends with who or who's married to who or whose parents did what or what social circles they travel in. They're all working actors.

I don't know what it is about Beanie that makes some people online spiral out."

Beanie is like nails on a chalkboard for me.  

[Fan123]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 5:45pm

Just the other day I was idly wondering about when Anna Zavelson might appear in a show again, after hearing about how great she was in 'The Light in the Piazza'. Glad to hear she's in this!

I'm not across every detail of the 'Funny Girl' drama, but good on Beanie Feldstein for getting back out there and for being willing to take on a smaller role. Hope she's amazing, and has fun.

[cglaid]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 8:37pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Noah Galvin was one of the best parts of THEATER CAMP last year.

I don't really care who's friends with who or who's married to who or whose parents did what or what social circles they travel in. They're all working actors.

I don't know what it is about Beanie that makes some people online spiral out."

If you are referring to me, I'd hardly describe my message or comments about Beanie as spiraled out.

[Kad]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 9:36pm

There were posts that were subject to the standard, heavy-handed BWW moderation. 

[wsondheim94]

Posted: 8/29/24 at 11:11pm

Hey Mods could you explain why my post was deleted when it was in defense of the working actors in this cast? I'm so confused by the censorship here sometimes lol

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 8/30/24 at 12:08am

The standard for what gets deleted on this board has never been consistent in my two decades of posting here. That said, from my observation, deleted posts tend to fall into one of three categories:

a) something particularly harsh is said about a very beloved Broadway actor (usually if it's about their personal life/personality etc. rather than an opinion about a performance)

 b) the post is unusually mean towards a particular board member (bullying, name-calling, etc.)

or c) whoever was moderating that day happened to be personally offended and deleted the post simply because they didn't like it and because they can.

Anyway, I am also happy that Beanie is doing a musical again. She isn't a bad singer, and I think the blame lies more on the director and producers of the Funny Girl revival than on her. They never should have put her in that situation to begin with.