A hilarious tale of overachievers’ angst chronicling the experience of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show’s Tony Award winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.
DC Theatre Scene Review
“Director Christina A. Coakley has brought out the childhood innocence of the characters in a way I’ve never seen before … Keegan calibrates the entire production to achieve the light-hearted mood of the show.”
The Washington Post Review
“Keegan Theatre, which in 2009 became the first Washington theater to take on its own production of ‘Rent,’ is following that success with the first homegrown production of ‘The Bee’.”
Washington City Paper Review
“I was the disruptive woman guffawing in the fifth row. Spelling Bee is a great show for native English speakers who love comedy, musicals, or musical comedy.”
Borderstan Review
“Though this musical garnered great acclaim across its time on Broadway, what made it so wonderful here at Keegan was the intimate atmosphere the space offered…For now, there doesn’t seem to be a better match than 25th Annual and Keegan.”
Washingtonian Review
“As the kindly but ambitious Peretti, McManus, who appeared last year in Signature Theatre’s production of Chess, is one of the strongest performers vocally. The rest of the cast demonstrate an obvious flair for comedy, particularly Dan Sonntag as the chubby, habitually mispronounced William Barfée.”
MD Theatre Guide Review
“This Keegan Theatre production is the most endearing, heartwarming, and the funniest I’ve seen. It’s pure joy!”
Washington Post Review
“Rachel Sheinkin’s scenes unleash dozens of gleaming gags, and as the Keegan Theatre production proves, they’re utterly dependable.”
Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere Shayna Blass
Olive Ostrovsky Maddie Botteri
Rona Lisa Perretti Katie McManus
Marcy Park Tina Ghandchilar
Douglas Panch Dan Van Why
Chip Tolentino Chris Mueller
Leaf Coneybear Michael Innocenti
Mitch Mahoney RaMond Thomas
William Barfee Dan Sonntag
Female Understudy Mary Beth Luckenbaugh
Male Understudy Ben Lurye
Director Christina Coakley
Music Director Elisa Rosman
Choreographer Melissa Douglass Bustamante
Stage Manager Alexis Rose
Assistant Stage Manager Juliana Parks
Bee Wrangler Nora O’Reilly
Lighting Designer Hannah Dubrow
Set Designer George Lucas
Costume Designer Shadia Hafiz
Set Dresser Carol Baker
Properties Designer Katrina Wiskup
