Jasmine Amy Rogers and More Announced for Spelling Bee Revival

More casting has been announced for the off-Broadway revival of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which is set to begin previews at New World Stages on November 7 ahead of an official opening night November 17. The limited engagement is scheduled through February 15.

Tony Award nominee Jasmine Amy Rogers (BOOP!) will star as Olive Ostrovsky, Autumn Best (Netflix’s Woman of the Hour) will play Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, and Matt Manuel (Ain’t Too Proud) will take on the role of Mitch Mahoney.

They join the previously announced cast of Kevin McHale (Glee) as William Barfée, Tony Award Nominee Justin Cooley (Kimberly Akimbo) as Leaf Coneybear, Philippe Arroyo (& Juliet) as Chip Tolentino, and Leana Rae Concepcion (Merrily We Roll Along) as Marcy Park.

Featuring a Tony Award-winning book by Rachel Sheinkin (Striking 12) and a score by Tony Award winner William Finn (Falsettos), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is about the quirky contestants (and even stranger parents) drawn to a spelling competition. After seeing the original production in 2005, TheaterMania’s critic declared, “The American musical comedy — with equal emphasis on the ‘musical’ part and the ‘comedy’ part — is alive and well.”

This new production is directed and choreographed by Danny Mefford, with scenic design by Teresa L. Williams (The Preacher’s Wife), costume design by Emily Rebholz (Dear Evan Hansen), lighting design by David Weiner (Suddenly Last Summer), and sound design by Haley Parcher (Spamalot). The Music Supervisor is Carmel Dean (The Notebook), and the Music Director is Elizabeth Doran.

Finn, a composer noted for his ability to wed catchy melodies to prosaic lyrics, died in April.