Lamplight Players Bring 'Spelling Bee' to Rowan College at Burlington County

In their first performance as Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC), the Lamplight Players will present “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” on the college’s Pemberton campus starting April 15, the college announced Monday morning.

Rebecca Feldman conceived the musical comedy from a book by Rachel Sheinkin. It includes music and lyrics by William Finn and additional material by Jay Reiss.

It tells the fictional story of an eclectic group of middle school students competing in a spelling bee.

A cast of nine RCBC students and audience volunteers will put on a performance full of touching and funny stories and catchy songs.

In his first RCBC Lamplight Players production, Tyler Conklin, of Lumberton, will take the stage as “Marc Park.”

Daio Floyd, an RCBC theatre major and Westampton resident, is appearing in her second performance at RCBC as “Rona Lisa Peretti.” She also played Mimi in RCBC’s production of “Rent.”

John Hager, of Burlington, will play “Vice Principal Douglas Panch” for his second performance with the RCBC Lamplight Players.

Making his debut with the Lamplight Players is RCBC theatre major, Thomas Densten, of Burlington, who will play the roles of “Chip Tolentino,” “Jesus,” and “Olive’s dad.”

Benjamin Kirvan, of Mount Laurel, will return for his second role with the RCBC Lamplight Players as “William Barfee.”

In his first role with the RCBC Lamplight Players, Cristian Melendez, of Westampton, will play two parts, “Mitch Mahoney” and “Dan,” one of Schwarzy’s dads.

Also making her debut performance with the RCBC Lamplight Players is Taylor Sternberg, of Mount Laurel. She will play “Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre.”

Lana Lamar, of Marlton, will return to the RCBC Lamplighter’s stage for a second time as “Olive Ostrovsky.”

For his first production with the RCBC Lamplight Players, Nicholas La Pierre, of Eastampton, will play two roles, “Leaf Coneybear” and “Carl,” one of Schwarzy’s dads.

Performances will take place on Fridays and Saturdays, April 15, 16,l 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m;. and Sunday, April 17 at 2 p.m. at the Geraldine Clinton Little Theater, located in the Lewis M. Parker Center on the Pemberton campus, 601 Pemberton Browns Mills Road.

General admission is $12. Admission for RCBC students with a valid student ID is $7 and can be purchased through students’ WebAdvisor accounts. General admission tickets can be purchased online at rcbc.edu/theatre/tickets. Remaining tickets will be available for purchase at the Box Office in the college’s Lewis M. Parker Center one hour before showtime. Doors open 30 minutes before showtime.

The production was also made possible with support from RCBC theatre major and Stage Manager Andrew Robinson, who will be transferring Rowan University, RCBC’s premier partner school, Choreographer Shaun Doyle, Production Designer Andy Campbell, RCBC adjunct faculty member Diana Dohrmann, who served as Vocal Director, and RCBC Assistant Professor and Theatre Program Coordinator Patricia S. Cohill, who served as Director.

Additional support was provided by the crew: Stage Manager Andrew Robinson, Sound Board Operator Chris Carruth, Light Board Operator Millie Otto, Follow Spot Operator Andrew Snellen, Follow Spot Operator Lauren Pretty and Props Alexis Vaxman. Musical accompaniment is provided by: Conductor Jerry Kapral (also on keyboards), Ed Ekins on reeds, Jeff Seykot on bass and Mike Farrell on drums.

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was originally directed on Broadway by James Lapine and originally produced on Broadway by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, and Patrick Catullo, Barrington Stage Company, Second Stage Theater. RCBC’s production is produced through special arrangement with Musical Theatre International.

The attached image was provided by Rowan College at Burlington County