Lisa Peretti News

The 2022 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards ceremony will take place at Paper Mill Playhouse on Monday, June 6, at 7:30pm, featuring presenters from both Broadway and beyond. See the full list of nominees.

Meet all of the Broadway actors in THE GILDED AGE! The new series features appearances by Audra McDonald, Denée Benton, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Kelli O'Hara, Carrie Coon, Claybourne Elder, Donna Murphy, Katie Finneran, Debra Monk, Taylor Richardson, Douglas Sills, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Patrick Page, Michael Cerveris, and more.

Next week, FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club & Private Event Destination, will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

An eclectic group of six tweens vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. A riotous ride, complete with audience participation, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a delightful den of comedic genius. Performances are December 5th thru the 19th. Gallery Players, 1125 College Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43209. Please visit https://columbusjcc.org/gallery-players/ to get specific show times and purchase tickets.

There are some people who manage to make everything look so easy, even the difficult things. Lisa Howard is just such a person. She has worked with some of the best and brightest on Broadway. She has won a Drama Desk Award and been nominated for another. Her powerhouse voice feels as effortless as a cool breeze on a summer day. She’s been directed by James Lapine, David Hyde Pierce, Joe Mantello, Bartlett Sher, and Christopher Ashley, and yet it always looks like she glided on from the wings and just made up something brilliant.

F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C. Fantastic is defined in the dictionary as 'extraordinarily good' Simply put, and to use in a sentence, 'The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee at STAGES Theatre is simply a FANTASTIC production that should and needs to be seen by all.' Not only is the show brilliant, but it has easily become the best fall musical in the Houston theatre scene.

San Francisco’s Landmark Musical Theatre (Jon Rosen, Artistic Director) is pleased to announce the full cast and creative team for the opening production of the Company’s upcoming in-person 2021-2022 season, the Tony Award®-winning audience favorite THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. 

Sally Wilfert returns to Feinstein’s/54 Below with her brand-new show, How Did I End Up Here? She and music director Joseph Thalken take you on a musical journey from innocent Ohio farm girl to acclaimed Broadway songstress. 

It was exactly a year ago that the newly formed professional non-profit Nicely Theatre Group (NTG) was slated to premiere its inaugural show with the musical Pippin. And we all know what happened last year to live theatre productions...

How do you spell WINNER? If you have an evening to plan and want to spend an evening outside and enjoying live theatre, I recommend you take a trip down to the bee.

FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club, will present Sally Wilfert in “How Did I End Up Here?” on July 18th and 20th at 7PM.  Sally Wilfert (Assassins, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) returns to Feinstein’s/54 Below with her brand new show, “How Did I End Up Here?”

Portland Center Stage released a statement today from Stacey Caldwell Roberts, incoming board chair; Cynthia Fuhrman, managing director, and Marissa Wolf, artistic director:

After a 15-month shutdown due to the COVID-19 epidemic, proprietors Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, and Tom Viertel have announced that “Broadway’s Supper Club” Feinstein’s/54 Below will reopen its iconic red door for live performances on June 17, 2021. 

Celebration Theatre Company continues its fifth season with Rachel Sheinkin and William Finn's Tony Award-winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, running from April 30 - May 9, 2021 at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts' Alexis and Jim Pugh Theatre.

Hagerstown Community College presents The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee next month.

As BroadwayWorld reported last week, The Lincoln Project created an incredible video, titled Covita- a Trump-themed parody of 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' from the musical Evita. It was later revealed that Broadway veteran Lisa Howard (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, It Shoulda Been You) lent her voice to the now viral tune, which has has almost 3.5 million views. Now she's telling us all about how she became involved!

Skylight Music Theatre today announced the cast and creative team for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, running February 7-23, 2020 in Skylight's beautiful Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway, in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.

To an outsider, the world of competitive spelling may not seem like one that's brimming with tension and intrigue. When one thinks about worlds that are rife for dramatization, a myriad of source material seems more plausible; but I suppose Mormon missionaries, SpongeBob SquarePants, and the life of Alexander Hamilton also seemed odd choices at-a-glance for stage adaptation, and things turned out ok for those musicals. Though competitive spelling is at the heart of 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee', that's not what makes 'Spelling Bee' so compelling; it's the cast of eccentric characters, their personal baggage, and how that baggage informs their drive to excel at spelling that makes the show so heartwarming. Blackfriars Theatre's production of 'Spelling Bee' is as touching and wildly funny a production as you'll find on any professional stage, made more impressive by the fact that the cast, and the bulk of the artistic team, are local college students.

Blackfriars Theatre presents its 2019-2020 BTSI (Blackfriars Theatre Summer Intensive) production: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Following an eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime, the Tony Award-winning musical was penned by Rachel Sheinkin, from a concept by Rebecca Feldman and music by multiple award-winning composer and lyricist, William Finn. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming 'ding' of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves! At least the losers get a juice box.