Tartan Theatre presents THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

Get out your dictionaries! The Tony® Award winning musical
comedy, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, hits the stage at

Tartan Theatre beginning January 3, 2014.

"Each production
that we have brought to the Tartan Theatre stage has been unique, and SPELLING BEE
is no exception." said Ryan DeLaCroix, Tartan Theatre’s Director. "Set
in a school gymnasium, SPELLING BEE takes a hilarious and heartwarming
look at the pressures of growing up through the eyes of quirky yet lovable
characters competing for the title of spelling bee champ.  Tartan Theatre
always puts a unique twist on shows, and with SPELLING BEE the audience will
be seated right in the middle of the action onstage enjoying dinner while the
action is going on around them.”

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM
COUNTY SPELLING BEE is a hip musical comedy which follows six young people in the
throes of puberty, who are overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape
childhood themselves, as they learn that winning isn't everything and that
losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser. At each performance, four audience
volunteers are selected and invited on stage to participate in the Bee, making
each performance unique. THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE is
recommended for theatergoers 13 and over.

Created,
workshopped and developed by the Barrington Stage Company in western
Massachusetts in the winter of 2004 and that summer, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM
COUNTY SPELLING BEE opened Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre where it
was an instant hit, prompting it to move to Broadway's Circle-in-the-Square
Theater. Nominated for six Tony® Awards, including Best Musical, it took home two Tony®
Awards in 2005 for Best Book of a Musical and Best Featured Actor in a
Musical.

The cast of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE features seniors Gabe Bergstrom
(Leaf Coneybear), Ryan Gilman (William Barfée), Jake Mierva (Mitch Mahoney), Nadia Sandstrom (Logainne
Schwartzandgrubenniere) and Erin Wintheiser (Olive Ostrovsky).  The rest of the
cast includes juniors Ana Ellis (Marcy
Park), Sean Gulbranson (Vice Principal Doug Panch), Taylor Hafner (Rona Lisa
Peretti), and sophomore Vincent Vang
(Chip Tolentino).

Tickets for THE 25TH
ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE are priced at $25 for Adults, $23 for
Seniors and $16 for Youth under the age of 18.  All performances include
dinner or brunch and all seating is onstage.  Performances are January 3
& 4, 2014 at 7 pm. and January 5, 2014 at 1 pm.  All meals begin 30
minutes before show time.  For tickets: www.tartantheatre.org,
(651) 702-8652, or in person at 828 Greenway Ave N., Oakdale.   Catering is provided by
Tinucci’s Restaurant.  Seating is limited

to 100 per performance and limited show only tickets will be available at the

door.