Interview: Buzzing With Joy, Jon Cryer Finds His Place in Spelling Bee

For Jon Cryer, stepping into The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at New World Stages has turned out to be as rewarding as perfecting the winning word.

Best known for his Emmy-winning turn as Alan Harper on Two and a Half Men and his breakout performance as Duckie in Pretty in Pink, Cryer has returned to his theatrical roots in the off-Broadway revival of Spelling Bee after appearing as a guest speller and falling in love with the production’s infectious energy.

As the well-meaning and quietly anxious Vice Principal Panch, Cryer brings his trademark wit, warmth, and deep respect for collaboration to the role. The actor has embraced the musical’s unique blend of structure and improvisation while adding his own emotional dimension.

He recently talked to TheaterMania about finding his place within an award-winning ensemble, his career-defining television roles, Broadway dreams, and why performing jazz hands in the hit song “Magic Foot” might be one of the highlights of his career.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

What excited you most about joining this production?

I came as a guest speller, and I fell in love with the spirit of it. It was so joyful and beautifully performed. When you see this perfect thing happening and a week later the producers say, “Hey, do you want to be in it?,” you say, “Sure!”

Vice Principal Panch brings a unique, deadpan energy to the show. How did you approach finding your own interpretation of the role after taking it over from Jason Kravitz?

Jason’s Panch had a little bit of swagger to him, whereas my version of Panch has little swagger. This guy is trying to make up for whatever “the incident” was five years ago, so because he has stakes for this particular contest, I came at it from the point of view of somebody who was trying to come back from something. It’s also funny because he has a breakdown, so there’s got to be some stakes to make that believable.

You have done a lot of theater. How has the experience of performing in this production been different from some of your other stage work?

I didn’t want to throw off the balance of an already wonderful show. I wanted to just add what I could to it. I was in awe of Jason’s pacing because this character is really the engine of the show—he runs the spelling bee! His pacing with the spellers dictates so much. Also, everybody’s so young, so you just feel like you’re automatically the elder statesman whether you want to be or not. It’s such a lovely thing because these are all young people who are at a spectacular time in their lives. For some of them this is their first thing, and to have it become this wonderful little phenomenon has been great to watch.

This is such a unique show because it relies heavily on improvisation and collaboration.

Last week I learned that one of our contestants was going to be the winner of the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee. I was like, “That’s wonderful, except I’m the guy who has to somehow get him out of the competition. Do you guys have any idea how I am going to do that to the best speller in the nation?” We have to make this stuff up as we go along.

Which moment in the show do you enjoy performing most each night?

I secretly love performing “Magic Foot.” I get to do jazz hands three times! This is why I am in musical theater. That’s as close to Fosse as I’m getting.

How would you describe your own abilities as a speller?

They are pretty decent. When I was a guest speller, they got me out on the second word, “caudge-pawed,” and I went, “Oh, come on!” I found out later that it was one of their killer words that no one gets right, and it has a hyphen in it. Had I gotten this ridiculous word right, they still would have been able to get me out on the fact that I didn’t include the hyphen.

What are some of the most important lessons that you have learned in your long career?

This business is so hard, but a shockingly valuable thing that you can bring to every project is positivity. You always need to say, “We can do this. We can find a way to accomplish this goal.”

Many people know you from iconic television and film roles. How have your relationships with those characters evolved over time?

I have a real love for all of them, but I have regrets occasionally. I always think of the best jokes in the car on the drive home. That’s one of the frustrating things about the improv in Spelling Bee. As we’re doing the bows I think of a joke that I should have done when the third speller was up! Interestingly, after playing Alan for 12 years on Two and a Half Men, I was like, “I don’t know how to do this without hitting the same note.” That was one of the reasons it ended when it did. They had been talking about doing an Alan spinoff. The writers were amazing, but there was just somewhere else I had to go.

If you could revisit a character for one performance or for one moment, who would it be?

I would love to revisit Lex Luthor. I still have the [bald] head for it! Covid shut down Supergirl at the end of the season. There’s a bunch of things that we wanted to do with him that we never got to do. I was a total comic book nerd growing up, so to be a part of the Arrowverse was incredibly fun and satisfying.

What would audiences be surprised to learn about you?

I am terrified before every show, but I have a feeling that wouldn’t surprise people. My friend was doing a documentary series and he gave me the opportunity to train in Russia as a cosmonaut in 2015. It was fascinating. I learned that I would not be a good cosmonaut. But that’s how you learn.

What would be your dream role in a musical?

Sweeney Todd, but I am not the right guy for that. [Laughs.] I don’t know that there is an audience to see me doing that part. When I saw Sweeney at 15 years old it made me say, “I’m not going to do anything but have a life in the theater because I have to be a part of this.”

Which of the young spellers in Spelling Bee is most closely aligned with the sensibilities of young Jon?

I was a theater kid and a smartass. I found myself as a performer because I realized that I was decent at comedy. I would say if I was any one of them, it would be Barfee. Interestingly, I did have some of that weird, Barfee nerd-swagger when I was younger.