Spelling Bee Closes on Broadway Today

The sweet, quirky Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ends its run at the Circle in the Square Theatre today. Spelling Bee was an Off-Broadway hit at the Second Stage Theatre before transferring to Broadway, where it has played over 1,100 performances. The show is about -- what else? -- a spelling bee, and in addition to the six cast members playing student spellers, four people from the audience also got to join the competition onstage each night. Spelling Bee lives on through its original Broadway cast recording, and no doubt many regional theaters will now be angling to produce it.