A hilariously hip musical comedy, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee features six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learning that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser. At each performance, four audience volunteers are invited onstage to participate in the Bee. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has music and lyrics by William Finn (Falsettos, A New Brain), book by Rachel Sheinkin and conception by Rebecca Feldman. Original direction was by James Lapine and choreography by Dan Knechtges.