Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich (“Aladdin”) are producing
Beatrice Verhoeven | April 22, 2021 @ 3:23 PM
Disney has picked up the rights to the 2005 Broadway musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” and will adapt it into a live-action film, an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap.
Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, who produced the 2019 live-action “Aladdin” for the studio, will produce via their Rideback banner. Rideback’s Ryan Halprin will executive produce.
The musical follows several competitors competing in a spelling bee. Composer William Finn’s musical opened on Broadway in 2005 and earned six Tony nominations while winning two: for Rachel Sheinkin’s book and for Dan Fogler’s featured performance. The show, which also included a pre-“Modern Family” Jesse Tyler Ferguson in its original cast, played for nearly three years and 1,100-plus performances on Broadway.
Cast of
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Joan Marcus
Anyone who likes to laugh and likes to spell got some good news this week: Disney is at work on a film adaptation of the musical
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, who oversaw the live-action
Aladdin in 2019, will produce with Ryan Halprin as executive producer. The trio will operate through Lin and Eirich s production company Rideback. A creative team and cast will be revealed later. Jose Llana and cast
Based on The Farmâs original play
C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E,
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee may hit big screen nydailynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nydailynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Penn State Behrend’s spring theatre production will be outdoors and socially distanced. Performances began April 22.
Art imitates life, right?
Penn State Behrend’s fall theatre production, like much of the country at that time, was locked down: The cast gathered on Zoom, performing from individual rooms in the college’s Perry Hall.
“They made the most of it,” said Emily Cassano, assistant teaching professor of music, theatre and visual arts, “but they never had an opportunity to fully bond as a group. They were always in different rooms.”
The spring production, which runs April 22-25, reflects the later stages of the pandemic. The performances will be outdoors, under tents on the Wilson parking lot. The cast will be together, but still distanced; audience members also will be separated, although those who purchased tickets as a group can sit together.
Image: Penn State Behrend April 22, 2021
ERIE, Pa. Art imitates life, right?
Penn State Behrend’s fall theater production, like much of the country at that time, was locked down: The cast gathered on Zoom, performing from individual rooms in the college’s Perry Hall.
“They made the most of it,” said Emily Cassano, assistant teaching professor of music, theater and visual arts, “but they never had an opportunity to fully bond as a group. They were always in different rooms.”
The spring production, which runs April 22-25, reflects the later stages of the pandemic. The performances will be outdoors, under tents on the Wilson parking lot. The cast will be together, but still distanced; audience members also will be separated, although those who purchased tickets as a group can sit together.