Saint Michael's Playhouse Presents SPELLING BEE, Opens 6/15

The Saint Michael's Playhouse opens its 2010 season of professional summer theater Tuesday, June 15, in the McCarthy Arts Center at Saint Michael's College, with the Broadway musical comedy, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE.

The show runs, June 15 through June 26, Tuesdays through Saturdays (June 15-19 and 22-26), each evening at 8 p.m., with matinees on Saturdays, June 19 and 26 at 2 p.m.

"We couldn't be more pleased with the caliber of our 2010 Acting Company," said Chuck Tobin, Playhouse Producing Artistic Director. "Greater Burlington is certainly in for a treat this summer with some of the best actors in the business performing on The Playhouse stage," Tobin said.

Cast members Rebecca Larkin (BROADWAY; South Pacific) and Jennifer Swiderski (BROADWAY National Tour; The Drowsy Chaperone) lead a talented cast of professional musical theater performers, including Playhouse favorite Marc Tuminelli.

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, a Tony Award-winning Broadway blockbuster, is directed and choreographed by Keith Andrews whose previous Playhouse credits include Big River, The Pirates of Penzance, Suds, and Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.

This side-splittingly funny, tuneful, offbeat, smart musical, boasts lovable characters, ingenious songs, and audience participation. The New York Times hailed the show, saying, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is riotously funny and remarkably ingenious. Gold stars all around!" A hilarious tale of overachievers' angst that chronicles the experience of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show's unlikely, but lovable heroes are a charming cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.

Before every performance of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, four audience volunteers are recruited to participate on-stage as guest spellers. Each new foursome guarantees a new set of hilarious and unexpected experiences.

Cast members (in their own words):
REBECCA LARKIN (playing Marcy Park) Broadway: South Pacific (Lincoln Center, Dir. Bartlett Sher). First National Tours: Avenue Q (Dir. Jason Moore), Barbie LIVE! in Fairytopia (Dir. Eric Schaeffer). New York Cred its: Sondheim: The Birthday Concert, 24th Easter Bonnet Competition, 21st Gypsy of the Year Benefit. Regional Credits: Jewtopia (Broward Stage Door), Miss Saigon (Westchester Broadway, Gateway), The Wedding Singer (Gateway).

Jennifer Swiderski (playing Rona Lisa Per etti) Broadway National Tour: The Drowsy Chaperone (understudied and performed the title role). Other Tours: NEWSical & Smokey Joe's Café. New York Theater: The Minetta Lane-Scandalous People (Mae West), The York, & The New York Comedy Club. Favorite Regional: The Full Monty (Vicki Nichols), South Pacific (Nellie), & Singin' In The Rain (Lina Lamont). Jennifer received a Best Actress Carbonell Nomination for her portrayal of Patty Andrews in Sisters of Swing.

Marc Tumminelli (playing William Barfeé) Marc has appeared at theatres all over the U.S. and here at Saint Michael's Playhouse as Eugene in Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues and Broad way Bound. Over the past 6 seasons Marc also appeared in the SMP productions of Dames at Sea (Lucky), Into The Woods (Jack), Barnum (Tom Thumb) and Big River (Young Fool). Regional/New York credits include; Gypsy staring Patti LuPone, Lost In Yonkers, Torch Song Trilogy, Oklahoma!, Oliver!, Shenandoah, The Dresser, and Bring Back Birdie as well as the all-star concerts of Children Of Eden, The Secret Garden and Pippin starring Rosie O'Donnell and Ben Vereen. Film/TV cred its include: The Sopranos and A Beautiful Mind directed by Ron Howard.

Tessa Faye (playing Logainne Schwart z and Grubenierre) Off-Off Broadway: in The Cradle Will Rock, Veronica in Sunday Excursion. Regional credits include Bye Bye Birdie (Pitts burgh CLO), Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah (Seven Angels), and Anything Goes (Porthouse Theatre). Tessa provides the voice of Siara on the award-winning Pokemon Learning League animation se ries and can be seen on television in "The Electric Company" on PBS!

Tyson Jennette (playing Mitch Mahoney) Tyson, a proud CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), has performed worldwide in the genres of musical theater, opera, gospel, jazz and even country. Se lect credits include; Ragtime, Dreamgirls, Camelot, The Who's Tommy, The Full Monty, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Little Shop of Horrors, The Magic Flute and Aint Misbehavin/Blues in the Night Re vue through Guatemala & El Salvador. Fluent in Spanish and American Sign Language, between gigs he works in New York City as a Tri-lingual Sign Language interpreter.

Chip Phillips (playing Douglas Panch) Off-Broadway, Chip has been seen in Machiavelli, I Love You. . . Now Change and Perfect Crime. Re gional credits include John Adams in 1776 (Ar row Rock Lyceum), Milo in Sleuth and Marvin in Falsettos (Foothills Theatre), Maurice in Beauty and the Beast (Northern Stage), Hildy in The Front Page (Merrimack Rep), Lend Me a Tenor (American Stage Festival), Das Barbecu (New Repertory The atre), A Tuna Christmas (StageWest), and Jackie: An American Life (Wilbur Theatre).

David RossETTI (playing Chip Tolentino) New York credits: The Irish Curse (Soho Playhouse, Assistant Director), Hugh Cobalt: Pri vate Eye (HERE Arts Center), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Jimmy, Gallery Players), Ego (HERE Arts Center). National Tours: Hairspray (Brad '06-‘07 & Assistant Director '09-'10), Fame (Goody). Other favorites: A Christmas Carol (The Alliance The atre, 2007 Regional Tony Award winner), Gentle men Prefer Blondes (Gateway Playhouse), The Music Man (Theatre of the Stars), Guys & Dolls (Benny, El Camino Arts Center), Cabaret (Emcee, Neighborhood Playhouse).

NATHANIEL BELIVEAU (playing Leaf Coney bear) Nathaniel is extremely pleased to be mak ing his Playhouse debut. Previous roles include Dorn in Tennesse Williams' The Notebook of Trigorin and Dr. Slopper in the Heiress.

KATE CLARK (playing Olive Ostrovsky) Kate is thrilled to be returning to The Playhouse after having performed in BARNUM. Her recent roles include Nina in The Notebook of Trigorin, and Olive in a concert version of SPELLING BEE.

Creative team:
KEITH ANDREWS (Direc tor) Keith is delighted to be back at Saint Michael's Playhouse after directing and choreographing last year's productions of Dames at Sea and Breaking Up is Hard to Do. He has also directed Barnum, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Suds, My Way, Pirates of Penzance and Big River at The Playhouse. Other mu sical directing credits include: the National Tours of The Full Monty and Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh, and regional productions of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels starring Joe Piscopo, The Full Monty starring Sally Struthers and Hunter Foster, Side Show, The Wed ding Singer, Sweet Charity and Little Shop of Hor rors, to name a few and has directed plays such as Dirty Blonde and The Dining Room. Keith has also directed and choreographed ice shows such as Cold as Ice, a world premiere musical on ice starring Oksana Baiul, and Home for the Holidays, starring 2010 Olympic gold medalist Evan Lyse cek and silver medalists Charlie White and Meryl Davis.

CHUCK TOBIN (Producing Artistic Director) began his involvement with theater at Saint Michael's Col lege in 1976 as a theater major in the fine arts department. During his junior year, Chuck was ac cepted into the Saint Michael's Playhouse Profes sional Theater Internship Program and spent the summer of 1979 learning aspects of professional theater production and administration under the extraordinary guidance of producers Donald Rathgeb, Joanne Rathgeb, and Margaret O'Brien. Now, thirty years later, Chuck is honored to serve as Producing Artistic Director of this professional theater company and internship program, which has been an integral educational component at Saint Michael's College since 1947. In his career, Chuck has been producing and managing live pro­fessional theater with credits that include produc tions at Lincoln Center, Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse, and Symphony Space in NYC, the Nis say Theatre in Tokyo, the Adam Mickiewicz Center in Poznan, Poland, and regionally at New Reper tory Theater, Worcester Foothills Theater, Nicker son Theater, Olney Theatre, National Players, and the National Theater Group's Broadway Celebrity Series. Chuck serves on the Council of Resident Stock Theatre's negotiating committee with Ac tors' Equity Association representing professional equity resident stock theater from across the na tion.

NATE VENET (Music Director) Nate is a Vermont native who is excited to return to Saint Michael's Playhouse this summer. He works extensively as a music director and accompanist for local community theater organizations and public schools, as well as with students in camp settings during the summer. This past year found him at numerous area middle and high schools, as well as at Saint Michael's College, UVM, and Lyric Theatre, performing piano and accordion in pro ductions of The Full Monty and La Cage Aux Folles, amongst others. After Spelling Bee, Nate will be music directing Peter Pan and Chicago, both on the Flynn stage in Burlington.

Playhouse background:
From its beginnings in 1947, Saint Michael's Playhouse has blossomed into an award-winning, highly-regarded equity theater company. The Playhouse features talent from Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theaters nationwide, presented right here in Vermont. Housed in the Saint Michael's College McCarthy Arts Center, one of the finest theater facilities in the state, The Playhouse attracts approximately 16,000 theatergoers each season.

Saint Michael's Playhouse is a professional theater company operating as an auxiliary enterprise of Saint Michael's College. The Playhouse is Greater Burlington's only Actors' Equity resident theater company and as such operates under contract with Actors' Equity Association in New York City. At the same time, Saint Michael's College students have the opportunity to learn from the pros through internships in technical theater, costuming, lighting, set construction, and publicity.

The rest of the Saint Michael's Playhouse 2010 season:
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, June 29 - July 10
A comedic adaptation of Jules Verne's novel written by Mark Brown and directed by Kathryn Markey. Hold onto your seats for the original Amazing Race. Jules Verne's thrilling novel comes to life before your eyes in this wildly theatrical adaptation. Join fearless adventurer Phileas Fogg and his resourceful servant Passepartout as they race the clock and set out to circle the globe. Danger, romance, and comic surprises abound in this whirlwind of a show as five actors portraying 39 characters traverse seven continents in one of the great adventures of all time.

BLITHE SPIRIT, July 13 - 24
A delightfully enchanting farce written by Noel Coward and directed by Thomas Ouellette breezes onto The Playhouse stage. Charles, a successful writer and his second wife, Ruth, decide to hold a séance as research for an upcoming mystery novel. An eccentric medium, Madame Arcati, arrives to conduct the session and to Charles' (and Ruth's) surprise, the ghost of his glamorous and delightfully mischievous first wife, Elvira appears. The evening quickly devolves into chaos as doors start slamming and vases go flying. An enchanted comedy for a lighthearted summer evening!

ALWAYS . . . PATSY CLINE, July 27 - August 7
Written by Ted Swindley, this most frequently requested musical is directed and choreographed by Keith Andrews. Always...Patsy Cline is based on the true story of the legendary country singer's unlikely friendship with a Houston housewife, Louise Seger. This smash-hit musical and Playhouse favorite offers old fans and new ones a chance to see, through Louise's eyes, the American original and dazzling star that was Patsy Cline. An intimate look at the woman behind the legend, as only a true friend could tell it, filled with all of Patsy's greatest hits including Anytime, Walkin' After Midnight, I Fall To Pieces, She's Got You, Sweet Dreams and Crazy. Featuring Lucy Sorensen as Patsy Cline and Sarah Carleton as Louise.

Ticket information:
SEASON TICKETS (4 Shows) save 20% over the single ticket price. A series of four evening shows is $112; a series of 4 matinee shows is $92. Single tickets, evening, are $35; single matinee tickets are $29. Season tickets may be purchased online www.saintmichaelsplayhouse.org (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) or at the Saint Michael's Playhouse walk-up window in the McCarthy Arts Center, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit www.saintmichaelsplayhouse.org for more information.