POPs to perform smash-hit musical comedy

The cast features a group of misfit tweens spelling their way through words.

The cast features a group of misfit tweens spelling their way through words.

The Pacific Okinawa Players introduce their next production as the wildly funny and entertaining Broadway smash musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, October 15th-24th, at the Kadena USO and other locations as announced.

Winner of the Tony and the Drama Desk Awards for Best Book, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee features the fast-paced book by Rachel Sheinkin and a lively and witty score by William Finn. The cast of misfit tweens spell their way through a series of words in hopes of winning the prize of a lifetime- the opportunity to compete in the National Bee in Washington D.C. This hilarious ride, complete with audience participation, is a must see for family members ages 12 through adult.

POPs_SpellingBeeSep2015_012Spelling Bee is directed by Monica Poulsen, who assistant directed You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown this past spring, with choreography by Ashley Queen, who portrayed the loveable bird Woodstock in the same production, and musical direction by Melanie Bales, who has served as director and musical director for countless shows with Pacific Okinawa Players. The cast includes Christine Smith (Rona Lisa Peretti), Jacob Compton (Chip Tolentino), Heather Yeatman (Logainne SchwartzandGrubenniere), Jeff Yeatman (Leaf Coneybear), Stephen Loftesnes (William Barfee), Mandy McCammon (Marcy Park), Grace Herndon (Olive Ostrovsky), James Shandy (Vice Principal Douglas Panch), and Askia Drew (Mitch Mahoney).

The Pacific Okinawa Players, often called “POPs” for short, is a non-profit community theater organization committed to providing quality live theater experiences to all SOFA members, both in the audience and on stage. Director Monica Poulsen explains, “What I love most about POPs is that yes, we have a lot of fun, but everyone learns something in the process. As a director, it’s so rewarding to watch actors- whether they perform frequently, haven’t been on stage in twenty years, or have never been in a show at all- expand and hone their skills as performers. It’s very exciting to see a show come together.”

POPs_SpellingBeeSep2015_001POPs currently produces two adult shows and one youth show per year.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee musical will run October 15th-24th, with performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Rotational performance venues include the Kadena USO, with others to be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased on-line or at the door.

For more information, and to purchase tickets please visit POPs website at www.pacificokinawaplayers.org

The Pacific Okinawa Players is an all-volunteer non-profit community organization dedicated to providing high quality live theater to all military and SOFA status personnel stationed on Okinawa, Japan. We strive to promote education and continued development of the performing arts through the POPs Ed Kirsten Scholarship Fund. For more information please visit www.pacificokinawaplayers.org or email us at popsmembership@gmail.com.

09:14 07 Dec , 2024