High Schoolers Can See FDU Musical Comedy for Free

students will put on nine performances from Oct. 12-23 of the Tony award-winning musical, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” a comedy of overachievers’ angst chronicling the experience of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling bee championship of a lifetime.

Performances will be held in Dreyfuss Theater at FDU’s College at Florham in Madison.

Students will portray a quirky yet charming cast of misfits for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time. This production also involves three to four lucky volunteers from the audience to participate on stage.

This student production, directed and choreographed by Cindy Thole, is sponsored by FDU’s Department of Visual and Performing Arts. Musical direction is by Dimitri Nakhamkin. The play is an adaptation from a Rachel Sheinkin novel, and the music and lyrics are by William Finn. This is the first production of many for this upcoming theater season.

Performance dates are: Oct. 12-15, 21 and 22 at 8 p.m., and Oct. 23 at 2:30 p.m. A special matinee for high school students is scheduled for Oct. 21 at 11 a.m.

Tickets for all shows are $5 for students and the FDU community, and $10 for the general public. Tickets can be purchased at the door or reserved in advance by calling 973-443-8644. Thanks to a grant from the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, tickets for students attending the High School Friday matinees are free. For further information, email Stephen Hollis at hollis@fdu.edu or call 973-443-8467.