The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Production Credits

Music and Lyrics by William Finn
Book by Rachel Sheinkin
Conceived by Rebecca Feldman
Directed by Shana Gozansky

Additional Material by Jay Reiss
Originally Directed on Broadway by James Lapine
Originally produced on Broadway by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo, Barrinton Stage Company, Second Stage Theatre

BASED UPON C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, AN ORIGINAL PLAY BY THE FARM.
The Barrington Stage Company workshop of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was originally co-directed by Michael Barakiva and Rebecca Feldman.

Director's Note

The Cast

Nicole Albright '25 (Rona Lisa Peretti) she/they. Nicole is thrilled to be playing Rona and concluding her acting career at Brandeis with Spelling Bee! Previous acting credits include Twelfth Night (Toby Belch) with the Brandeis Department of Theater Arts, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Claudius/Player) with the Brandeis Department of Theater Arts Senior Studio, and Macbeth (Second Witch) with Hold Thy Peace. Nicole is a senior from Mountain View, California, double majoring in Theater Arts and English. They would like to thank the Spelling Bee cast and crew for a wonderful experience, and her family and friends for showing their love and support. She hopes you enjoy the show!

Robbie Gold smiles for his headshot Robbie Gold '25 (William Barfée) he/him. Robbie is thrilled to play a role that requires no acting! His favorite credits include Jean Valjean (Les Miserables), Schroeder (You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown), and Pugsley (The Addams Family). He has been performing in the role of Charlie in T: The Musical for three years (The Rockwell Theater). After leaving Oberlin College due to COVID, Robbie worked as an AI researcher at MIT, publishing five papers, and transferred to Brandeis last fall. He is a senior from Weston, MA, and is majoring in Computer Science and Math. He works part-time as a software engineer at a startup. His stage name is “Dwayne" The Rock "Johnson.”

Tristan Hearth '27 (Mitch Mahoney) has performed in over forty productions including Fugitive Songs (Undergraduate Theater Collective) and The Tempest (Hold Thy Peace) here at Brandeis, but this is their first performance with the Theater Department. Outside of acting, Tristan is the Assistant Business Manager of VoiceMale, and the Assistant Director of the upcoming Theater Department production of Lemons (X5). Tristan is so excited to be a part of this production, and so grateful for the opportunity to work with so many talented little freaks (<3)

Orly Krupp '24 (Olive Ostrovsky) she/her. Orly is overjoyed to be making her Brandeis mainstage production debut as Olive Ostrovsky. She is a proud Theater Arts major and is pursuing minors in Education Studies; Near Eastern & Judaic Studies; and Social Justice & Social Policy. An active member of the Brandeis theater community, recent credits include Farewell to the World I Know (Friedel) with the Brandeis Department of Theater Arts Senior Studio Productions and Fugitive Songs (Karen) with the Brandeis Undergraduate Theater Collective. Outside of performing, Orly serves as an Undergraduate Department Representative for the Department of Theater Arts and works as a project assistant for the Jewish Cultural Reconstruction Project in the Brandeis Library. Orly wants to thank Shana, the entire cast and crew, her friends, and her family for their love and support. She dedicates her performance to all the magical fat girls in theater who were never given the opportunity to play a leading role.

Michael Lewis '27 (Leaf Coneybear) he/him. Michael is a sophomore from Raleigh, North Carolina majoring in Theater Arts and Environmental Studies with minors in Legal Studies and Music. He is thrilled to be making his debut with the Brandeis Theater Department! Past Brandeis credits include Lost Girl (Peter) and Fugitive Songs (Gavin) with the Undergraduate Theater Collective. He also had the honor of performing in two senior theses last year: F.U.B.A.R. (Peter) and Hamlet (Horatio). Outside of theater, he enjoys singing with the Brandeis Chamber Singers and he’s a member of Brandeis’ premiere sketch comedy group, Boris’ Kitchen! He wants to thank the cast, crew, and the creative team for their unwavering support and love throughout this process.

Gianni Storti '26 (Chip Tolentino) he/him. Gianni is from Natick, Massachusetts, and is so excited to be a part this production. He a current junior at Brandeis with a double major in Psychology and Theater Arts. Before taking part in Spelling Bee, Gianni has appeared in several other Brandeis Theater arts productions, such as Spring Awakening (Melchior), and Twelfth Night (Sebastian). Aside from theater, Gianni spends his time on campus as a member of the Brandeis Starving Artists a cappella group. He would like to extend a big thank you to the cast and crew for making this show possible!

Maya Schultz '25 (Vice Principal Panch) she/her. Maya (who incidentally was named after a bee!) is thrilled to be making her Brandeis musical and MainStage debut! She previously appeared in the Brandeis Theater Arts Production Bad Jews (Melody). She would like to thank the Brandeis Department of Theater Arts for four years of memorable artistic collaboration, her friends and family for their love and laughter, and to the Spelling Bee cast and crew for these past weeks of joyful theater making. Shoutout to Annabel, Maya’s Mom, for being the original multi-glass wearer! (And, of course, for being her Mom)

LaRue Vigil '26 (Logainne Schwartzandgubenierre) LaRue is a Junior at Brandeis University studying Theater Arts. LaRue is thrilled to be performing in their second department production as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere! LaRue’s past credits include Twelfth Night (Valentine) with the Brandeis Theater Department, As You Like It (Phebe) with the Prague Shakespeare Company, Legally Blonde the Musical (Paulette) at The Grove Theater Center and All Together Now (Tracy) at Los Angeles Valley College. LaRue is overjoyed to be working on this magical production and can’t wait to share it with you all!

Naomi Yu '28 (Marcy Park) she/her. Naomi is a freshman from Newton, Massachusetts planning to major in classical studies and theater arts. Spelling Bee is her first Brandeis production. At Milton Academy, Naomi appeared in Mean Girls (Regina George), Head over Heels (Philoclea), Chicago, and High School Musical, and she was also an avid classicist, performer, writer, and student activist. At Brandeis, she is also a member of Proscenium a cappella and a part of the team for Brandeis' classical artifacts collection. She would like to thank her family, Milton teachers, Brandeis professors, and the cast and crew of Spelling Bee for their support. She hopes you enjoy!

Artistic Staff

Shana Gozansky (Director) she/her. Shana Gozansky is a freelance director, teaching artist, and children’s book author. She has directed at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Trinity Repertory Company, Gloucester Stage Company, The Hangar Theatre, and at venues across Boston & NYC. She has held teaching positions &/or directed at various colleges and universities in Boston and beyond. Shana holds a MFA in Directing from Brown University/Trinity Repertory and a BA in Theater from Bard College, was an Artistic Associate at The Hangar Theatre, an Artist-in-Residence at both chashama and The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Shana is a member of the LincolnCenter Theater Directors Lab, is a Drama League Directing Fellow, and an Associate Member of SDC. She also writes books for children. Shana lives in the Boston area with her spouse, 10yo kid, and a dog that looks like a cow named Miss Piggy.

Mindy Cimini (Music Director/Keyboard) Mindy's work as a music director, pianist, and educator has taken her across the country and back again. She is excited to be working with a new generation of Brandeisians after her own time here as an undergrad. As an educator, Mindy has worked with students of all ages across the Boston area in youth productions as well as teaching and music directing at Boston University, Northeastern University, Tufts University, and The Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She has also worked as a pianist and music director with The Huntington, Lyric Stage, Moonbox Productions, Reagle Music Theater, Gloucester Stage Company, Wheelock Family Theater, and Bridge Rep of Boston. Mindy holds an MFA in Theater Education from Boston University and maintains a private voice/piano studio.

Kelli Edwards (Choreographer) Kelli returns to Brandeis Theatre Company after choreographing their productions of Into The Woods (co-director with Maurice Emmanuel Parent) and Cabaret directed by Steven Bogart. Professional theatre credits as choreographer or movement consultant include A Confederacy of Dunces, Come Back, Little Sheba, The Second Girl, Becoming Cuba, The Cherry Orchard, and How Shakespeare Won the West, Huntington Theatre Company; 1776 (co-director), Fiddler on the Roof, The Hot Mikado (IRNE Award for Best Choreography), The Snow Queen, The Wild Party, Cabaret, Ragtime, Into the Woods, The Threepenny Opera, Passing Strange, and RENT, New Repertory Theatre. Other Boston area theatre credits in choreography are with the American Repertory Theatre, Actor’s Shakespeare Project, Stoneham Theatre (The Secret Garden, Gypsy, Lumberjacks in Love), and Whistler in the Dark. Kelli has directed productions of Urinetown, Footloose, Legally Blonde, Les Miserables, and The Addams Family for Middlesex School Summer Arts. Kelli is the co-director of and performs with Dances by Isadora-Boston, a company dedicated to the work of one of the founders of American modern dance, Isadora Duncan. She is on the performing arts faculty of Milton Academy where she heads the dance program and where she has choreographed countless dances and directed productions of Spelling Bee, City of Angels, and Hairspray.

Sarah Schneider (Production Stage Manager) she/her. Sarah Schneider is a Boston-based stage manager and child supervisor and is thrilled to return to Brandeis for her third department production. She has worked with Guerilla Opera, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Boston Ballet, Huntington Theatre Company, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Wheelock Family Theatre, Company One, the Boston University Opera Institute, and more. Outside of the theatre, Sarah works at Foundation for Jewish Camp. Sarah is a graduate of Boston University where she earned her BFA in Stage Management. @sarahschneids

Skylar Neidig (Assistant Stage Manager) she/her. Skylar is a sophomore at Brandeis studying Applied Mathematics and Theater Arts. She is excited to be working with the Department as the assistant stage manager for this show! Previously for the department, she has worked as deck crew for Bad Jews. With the Undergraduate Theater Collective, she has been stage manager for Fugitive Songs and she recently stage managed a senior thesis project in the spring. Skylar is grateful to the cast for being such an amazing group of people to work with, and to the stage manager and director for creating such a supportive and welcoming environment.

Jeffrey Petersen (Scenic Design) he/him. Jeffrey is thrilled to return for another design at the Spingold Theatre Center at Brandies University. Jeffrey is a Minnesota transplant with a fading accent. He has worked throughout New England for professional institutions including: Commonwealth Shakespeare Co., Huntington Theatre, SpeakEasy Stage, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, New Repertory Theatre, Odyssey Opera, Boston Midsummer Opera, Opera Hub, Greater Boston Stage, Gloucester Stage. He holds an MFA in Scenic Design from BU’s School of Theatre and is a proud member of the United Scenic Artists local 829. www.jeffreypetersendesign.com

Franklin Meissner, Jr. (Lighting Designer) he/him Frank is pleased to join the team at Brandeis Theatre, another Waltham institution, after having worked at Reagle Music Theatre for 3 years as their Resident Lighting Designer. His work has also been seen Off and Off-Off Broadway in NYC, at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston (IRNE award), Boston Playwrights’ Theatre (IRNE award), New Repertory Theatre (three IRNE awards), Wheelock Family Theatre (ELLIOT NORTON award), The Boston Conservatory, Greater Boston Stage Company, SpeakEasy Stage, Northeastern University, Central Square Theatre, the North Shore Music Theatre, the South Shore Music Circus, Sanders Theatre, various corporate events and colleges around the state, and at 40 Carnegie Hall performances. Mr. Meissner is a member of United Scenic Artists. For more information: www.FranklinMeissner.com. For Abby.

Chelsea Kerl (Costume Design) she/her. Chelsea is pleased to be back at Brandeis having previously designed The Lathe of Heaven, The Tempest, Love and Information, Circle Mirror Transformation, Dream a Little Dream, Leveling Up, and Big Love. Chelsea is a Boston based freelance artist and educator; she received her MFA in Costume Design from Boston University and previously attended the University of Maryland. Chelsea is the costume shop manager and costume design professor at Wellesley College; she also teaches at Bridgewater State University and previously worked in the costume shop of the American Repertory Theatre. Select recent designs include- Huntington Theatre Company: Witch (Elliot Norton Award Winner, Outstanding Design: Large Theatre), Wheelock Family Theatre at BU: Willy Wonka; SpeakEasy Stage Company/Front Porch Arts Collective: Pass Over; Company One/American Repertory Theatre: Greater Good. More of her work can be seen at www.chelseakerl.com.

James Cannon (Sound Design) he/him. James Cannon is a sound designer based in Watertown, MA. He is thrilled to be making his Brandeis University debut with The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Previous sound design work has been heard at - North Shore Music Theater: Jersey Boys, Fiddler on the Roof, Disney's Frozen. Umbrella Stage Company: The Full Monty, The Minutes, LIZZIE: The Musical, The Color Purple. Moonbox Productions: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Passing Strange, The Rocky Horror Show. Speakeasy Stage Company: FAIRVIEW. Wheelock Family Theater: A Wrinkle in Time. Front Porch Arts Collective: Next to Normal. Boston Conservatory at Berklee: SWING!, City of Angels, Alice by Heart. Greater Boston Stage Company: Boulevard of Bold Dreams. Fresh Ink Theatre Company: John Deserves to Die. and with The Huntington Theater Company on The Band's Visit as Associate Sound Designer. He gives all the love to his son, Trevanté, and his partner Rebecca!

Joe Stallone (Props Design) - A Boston based theater artist, Joe holds B.A. degrees in Theater and Dramatic Literature from Boston College and takes on a variety of roles as a theater artist: director, dramaturg, props & set dressing design, costume design, and dialect coach. He has worked with Central Square Theater, New Rep, Greater Boston Stage, SpeakEasy Stage, Actors Shakespeare Project, Gloucester Stage, AFD Theater, TCAN Players, Boston College, The Umbrella, Concord Academy, and others. Joe was the co-production designer and co-director for a new vision of Macbeth, an Equity Showcase production in Manhattan in September 2024. In the early months of the pandemic, Joe created a series of four live-performance/live-steamed theater events for AFD Theater, one of the first in the area.

Annette Pinstein (Costume Assistant) they/them. Annette is a senior here at Brandeis and is so excited to follow the design process for this show! In the past, they have been an acting devisor for Without Blinking (Fall 2022) and a costume stitcher for Twelfth Night and for the Indigo Road Project! Many thanks to the amazing cast and crew!

Ofri Levinson (Assistant Director) Ofri is a senior majoring in Theater Arts and Multimedia Storytelling & Design. Previous Brandeis credits include assistant directing Stupid F**ing Bird and serving as light operator for Bad Jews. She also designed and built props for Adam’s Theater production of Library Lion as well as a full theatrical set for The Rover during her semester abroad in New Zealand. Ofri is passionate about creating theater and is grateful to be part of this production.

Qiwei Sun (Music Assistant)

Student Run Crew

Special Thanks

Creator Bios

William Finn (Music & Lyrics) Mr. Finn is the writer and composer of Falsettos, for which he received two Tony Awards, Best Book of a Musical (with James Lapine) and Best Original Score. He has also written and composed In Trousers, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland (Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, two Los Angeles Drama Critic's Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, the Lucille Lortel Award, and Guggenheim Fellowship in Musical Composition). Mr. Finn wrote the lyrics to Graciela Daniele's Tango Apasionado (music by the great Astor Piazzolla) and, with Michael Starobin, the music to Lapine's version of The Winter's Tale. His musical, Romance in Hard Times, was presented at the Public Theater. Recently, he wrote Painting You for Love's Fire, a piece commissioned and performed bye the Acting Company, based on Shakepeare's sonnets. For television, Mr. Finn provided the music and lyrics for the Ace Award-winning HBO cartoon "Ira Sleeps Over," "Tom Thumb and Thumbelina," "Pokey Little Puppy's First Christmas," and, with Ellen Fitzhugh, two "Brave little Toaster" cartoons. Mr. Finn has written for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and The New Yorker. A graduate of Williams College where he was awarded the Hutchinson Fellowship for Musical Composition, Finn now teaches a weekly master class at the NYU Tisch Graduate Program in Musical Theatre Writing. His most recent projects include Elegies, A Song Cycle (Lincoln Center) and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee which ran on Broadway and has been produced nationally and internationally, as well.

Rachel Sheinkin (Book) Broadway: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Tony, Drama Desk awards); Off Broadway: Striking 12 (Lucille Lortel nomination), Off-Off: Serenade. Regional: Guthrie, Little House on the Prairie; Center Theater Group, Sleeping Beauty Wakes(Los Angeles Ovation Award); London: Blood Drive. Residencies, fellowships, commissions include: Eugene O'Neill National Theater Center, Baryshnikov Dance Foundation, MacDowell Colony, Manhattan Theatre Club, Deaf West, McCarter Theatre, Playwrights Horizons. Rachel is a volunteer mentor for TDF's Open Doors program, a visiting instructor at Yale School of Drama, and adjunct faculty member of NYU's Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program.

Rebecca Feldman (Conceived By) is the conceiver of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for which she won a Lucille Lortel Award, Drama Desk and Tony Nomination for Best Musical. She directed its world premiere at Barrington Stage Company in the summer of 2004. Rebecca is Associate Producer on TRANSPARENT, the MUSICAL FINALE and served as Staff Writer on the finale as well. She is currently developing an episodic drama with Big Kid Pictures, called LA COYOTE, which has been selected to the WeForShe’s 2019 Writeher List. She is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Director's Lab as well as the AFI Directing Workshop for Women where she won the Jean Firstenburg Award for Best Short. Her short films include, MY FIRST TIME DRIVING (AFI Jean Firstenburg Award, Best Short at Lake Arrowhead Film Fest, Best of Shorts at Outfest), A/V CLUB (TV Pilot, NYTVF), UBER ALICE (Woodstock Film Fest), DEAD CAT (Producer, Tribeca Film Fest) and IRVING (Official Selection Rhode Island Film Fest, Official Selection USA Film Fest, Ft. Lauderdale Film Fest, Atlanta Jewish Film Fest).

The Farm was founded in 2000 by Rebecca Feldman, Artistic Director. It is a collective of writers and performers, including Jay Reiss, Dan Fogler, and Sarah Saltzberg. The Farm’s interest is in the role of improvisation in creating new work for the theatre. The Farm initially designates a two-week intensive period in which to discover, develop, and rehearse a play from the impulses borne mainly out of the pressure of a deadline. Previous projects include “Super” (at Atlantic Theatre Studios), “Why I Hate Florida” (workshop at White Wave in DUMBO) and “C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E” (at the Present Company Theatorium in October 2002), on which “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is based. The character and original dialogue of “Beth Marguiles,” “Vice President Douglas Panch,” “Mr. Barfee,” and “Logan Schwarzengrubenierre” were created by Rebecca Feldman, Jay Reiss, Dan Fogler, and Sarah Saltzberg, respectively.

Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form.

MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 100,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 150 countries worldwide.

MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre, and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI’s Broadway Junior® shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI’s School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students.

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