Casting Call: 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'

The Sayreville Main Street Theatre Co. will be having auditions for "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee".

Auditions are August 18 and 19 from 7 - 9 p.m. Callbacks are on August 21 at 7 p.m. Come prepared with sheet music to perform 16 bars of a musical theatre song that best reflects the character you hope to be cast as and that best reflects your voice quality and range. No Happy Birthday or accapella singing will be allowed. An accompanist and an IPOD dock will be available. Be sure your sheet music has the piano accompaniment, usually the bottom 2 staves below the vocal line. Mark your sheet music where you wish to start and finish. If you are auditioning for one of the 6 contestants, please note they are adult actors portraying adolescent children. Songs from shows where that is also done may be good audition song choices, for ex. "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown", "Snoopy The Musical", "Urinetown" (Little Sally), etc.

Six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser. "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is a hilarious tale of overachievers' angst chronicling the experience of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show's Tony Award winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.

Roles are:

Rona Lisa Peretti	The number-one realtor in Putnam County, a former Putnam County Spelling Bee Champion herself, and returning moderator. She is a sweet woman who loves children, but she can be very stern when it comes to dealing with Vice Principal Panch, who has feelings for her that she most likely does not return. It is implied that she sees much of herself in Olive Ostrovsky. Her favorite moment of the Bee is in the minutes before it starts, when all the children are filled with the joy of competition, before they begin to resent each other. She later declares that she likes how everyone has an equal chance of winning, citing as an example that last year's winner can be this year's loser and vice versa. Another favorite moment is when the last winners go head to head for the top spot because it is so suspenseful and filled with hope. Ms. Peretti herself won the Third Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by spelling "syzygy", which she recounts at the very beginning of the opening number.
Olive’s Mom and Dad	She is in India, he is working late, but they appear in Olive’s imagination to encourage her and tell her they love her. Played by the actors who play Miss Peretti and Mitch.
Vice Principal Douglas Panch	After five years' absence from the Bee, Panch returns as judge. There was an "incident" at the Twentieth Annual Bee, but he claims to be in "a better place" now (or so we think), thanks to a high-fiber diet and Jungian analysis. He is infatuated with Rona Lisa Peretti, but she does not return his affections.
Mitch Mahoney	The Official Comfort Counselor. An ex-convict, Mitch is performing his community service with the Bee, and hands out juice boxes to losing students. Dan Schwartz: SchwartzandGrubenierre’s other father; he is slightly less insane than Carl but is still intent on his daughter winning the Bee. Played by the actor who plays Mitch.
Olive Ostrovsky	A young newcomer to competitive spelling. Her mother is in an ashram in India, and her father is working late, as usual, but he is trying to come sometime during the bee. She made friends with her dictionary at a very young age, helping her to make it to the competition.
William Barfée	A Putnam County Spelling Bee finalist last year, he was eliminated because of an allergic reaction to peanuts. His famous “Magic Foot” method of spelling has boosted him to spelling glory, even though he only has one working nostril and a touchy personality. He has an often-mispronounced last name: it is Bar-FAY, not BARF-ee ("there's an accent aigu", he explains with some hostility). He develops a crush on Olive.
Leaf's Dad	Doubtful and finds his son annoying and unintelligent. Played by the actor who plays Will Barfée.
Logainne "Schwarzy" SchwarzandGrubenierre	Logainne is the youngest and most politically aware speller, often making comments about current political figures, with two overbearing gay fathers. She is somewhat of a neat freak, speaks with a lisp, and known she'll return to the bee next year.
Leaf’s Mom	Overprotective and doubtful of her son’s abilities to stand up to the competition. Played by the actress who plays Logainne.
Marcy Park	A recent transfer from Virginia, Marcy placed ninth in last year’s nationals. She speaks six languages, is a member of all-American hockey, a championship rugby player, plays Chopin and Mozart on multiple instruments, sleeps only three hours a night, hides in the bathroom cabinet, and is getting very tired of always winning. She is a total over-achiever, and attends a Catholic school called "Our Lady of Intermittent Sorrows." She is also not allowed to cry. She is often portrayed by an Asian actress.
Leaf’s Siblings	Marigold, Brook, Pinecone, Landscape, Raisin, and Paul. Not very confident of Leaf’s abilities. Brook is played by the actress who plays Marcy, while the others are situated in the audience and do not appear on stage.
Leaf Coneybear	A homeschooler and the second runner-up in his district, Leaf gets into the competition on a lark: the winner and first runner-up had to go to the winner’s Bat Mitzvah. Leaf comes from a large family of former hippies and makes his own clothes. He spells words correctly while in a trance. In his song, "I'm Not That Smart", he sings that his family thinks he is "not that smart," but he insinuates that he is merely easily distracted. Most of the words that he is assigned are South American rodents with amusing names.
Carl Grubenierre	One of SchwartzandGrubenierre’s fathers; he has set his heart on his little girl winning the Bee, no matter what he has to do, including sabotaging William’s foot. Played by the actor who plays Leaf.
Charlito "Chip" Tolentino	A Boy Scout and champion of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, he returns to defend his title. Relatively social and athletic, as he plays little league, Chip expects things to come easily but he finds puberty hitting at an inopportune moment.
Jesus Christ	Appears to Marcy in a moment of crisis. Played by the actor who plays Chip.
Three or four spellers from the audience	Audience members are encouraged to sign up to participate before the show, and several are chosen to spell words on stage.

The show has music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin, and additional material by Jay Reiss. It will be directed by Kevin Gunther, musically directed by Teddy Kernizan, and choreographed by Dawn Fulbrook.

Performances will be October 17 - 25 at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sunday.