Barrett Foa to Replace Jesse Tyler Ferguson in Spelling Bee

Barrett Foa will take over the role of Leaf Coneybear in the Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee from original star Jesse Tyler Ferguson on Tuesday, July 25. Ferguson, who will depart on July 23, will co-star in the upcoming CBS series The Class.

Foa is currently starring on Broadway as Princeton/Rod in Avenue Q, and will play his final performance on July 2. No replacement has yet been named. His prior New York stage credits include Mamma Mia! and Cupid and Psyche, and he has starred regionally in Much Ado About Nothing, Camelot, and Children of Eden.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee premiered at Second Stage in January 2005, and opened on Broadway on May 2, 2005. It received six Tony Award nominations and earned two wins, including Best Book of a Musical. The show also stars Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Josh Gad, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jose Llana, Sarah Saltzberg, and Greg Stuhr.