BWW Stage Mag The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - No Strings Theatre Stage Mag
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The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.
www.mtishows.com

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HANSEL & GRETEL SYNOPSIS

ACT I:

A poor broom-maker and his wife live in a lonesome
cottage with their little son, Hansel, and their daughter, Gretel. Father and mother have gone away to sell brooms in the neighbouring villages, leaving the children at work in the house. Hansel and Gretel find the work tiresome, especially with their empty stomachs clamouring. Eventually they abandon their work to dance, and are caught by their mother at the height of their merriment. She scolds the children and sends them out into the forest to pick wild strawberries. Late that evening the father returns, having sold his brooms for a good profit. Missing the children, he asks after them, and is horror-stricken at the thought of them all alone after nightfall in the woods.


ACT II:

Hansel and Gretel roam through the woods heedless of direction and time, gradually filling their baskets. When dusk falls, they are frightened of the darkening woods, which they believe to be haunted by fairies and witches. The frightened children cower together beneath a spreading tree, and repeat their usual bedtime prayer to the “fourteen guardian angels,’’ after which, calmer in spirit, they fall asleep with a fairy vision of the radiant angels floating around them.


ACT III:

The children awake, refreshed by a good night's sleep, and sing merrily. In the daylight, they notice a beautiful little house made of delicious things to eat. The house belongs to a wicked witch who lures children in with her spells, pops them into her oven, and bakes them into gingerbread. Hansel and Gretel approach the house and begin to break off treats from the walls. The witch appears and casts a spell to prevent their escape, shutting Hansel in a cage and feeding him sweets to fatten him. She tries to entice Gretel to bend down in front of the oven, so that she can push her in, but Gretel pretends not to understand. When the witch herself crossly bends down to show her how, the two children shove the witch into the oven, and bang the door shut. Once the witch is gone, all the gingerbread figures around the witch's house turn back into happy boys and girls. Father and mother, who have been out searching for the children, burst upon the scene, and the opera concludes with a chorus of thanksgiving.

Synopsis adapted from the Schirmer edition of Hansel & Gretel. 
 

COSÌ FAN TUTTE SYNOPSIS

ACT I:

Don Alfonso and his friends Ferrando and Guglielmo are arguing about the nature of women. Alfonso insists that all women are fickle, while Ferrando and Guglielmo refuse to believe that their fiancées, the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, would ever be unfaithful. Don Alfonso wagers that by the end of that very day he can prove his friends wrong. He instructs Ferrando and Guglielmo to pretend that they have been called to jury duty out of town. 

Fiordiligi and Dorabella are singing the praises of Guglielmo and Ferrando when Don Alfonso arrives to tell them that their loved ones must immediately depart. The young men arrive and the two couples bid each other a tearful farewell. Despina, the sisters’ maid, is preparing their breakfast when Fiordiligi and Dorabella enter lamenting the departure. She counsels them to amuse themselves while their lovers are away, advice that horrifies them. After the sisters leave, Don Alfonso, who has overheard their conversation, recruits Despina to aid him in his plot, asking her to admit two suitors (the disguised Guglielmo and Ferrando) into the house. Fiordiligi and Dorabella are alarmed to find two strange men in their home, and become ever more alarmed when the two men begin courting them. Don Alfonso pretends the men are old friends of his and begs the sisters to accept them. Even so, Fiordiligi staunchly swears fidelity to her absent Guglielmo.

The sisters are lamenting the departure of their fiancés when the two ‘strangers’ barge in and swallow what seems to be poison. When they collapse, Despina and Don Alfonso go in search of a doctor, leaving Fiordiligi and Dorabella to tend to the apparently dying strangers. A doctor (Despina in disguise) arrives to revive them. As they recover, they vow their love to the vexed sisters with even greater passion, while Don Alfonso and Despina try to hide their amusement.

ACT II:

Fiordiligi and Dorabella are persuaded by Despina that there would be no harm in some innocent flirtation. Dorabella chooses to pursue the disguised Guglielmo while Fiordiligi chooses Ferrando.

The suitors serenade the two sisters. Fiordiligi goes off for a stroll with Ferrando while Guglielmo courts Dorabella. To his amazement, Dorabella surrenders rather easily. Fiordiligi, however, continues to resist. When the two young men exchange news of their progress, Ferrando is stricken to learn that Dorabella has yielded to Guglielmo.

Ferrando makes a final attempt to break Fiordiligi’s tenacity, and to Guglielmo’s distress, she ultimately yields. Don Alfonso has now won his wager. He tries to console the two young men with his motto: ‘così fan tutte’ (‘all women are like that’).

The sisters’ weddings to their two suitors are proceeding when a chorus in the distance signals that Ferrando and Guglielmo have 'returned' from jury duty. The suitors and the notary officiating (again Despina in disguise) hide. A moment later Ferrando and Guglielmo appear, feigning surprise at their cool reception. When they discover the marriage contract and the notary, they swear vengeance on their faithless fiancées and their suitors. Finally, they reveal their ruse and the two pairs of lovers are reconciled. Or are they?

Synopsis adapted from Glyndebourne Festival. 

 

NO STRINGS THEATRE

In collaboration with industry professionals, No Strings Theatre aims to develop, empower and inspire the next generation of performing artists. Assuring an equitable space, we are committed to fostering anti-racist, non-biased theatrical practices while reducing socio-economic barriers. Our practices facilitate an inclusive space for community engagement in the arts.

For more information, visit www.nostringstheatre.com

 

Song List

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee The Spelling Rules/My Favorite Moment of the Bee My Friend, the Dictionary The First Goodbye Pandemonium I'm Not That Smart The Second Goodbye Magic Foot Pandemonium (Reprise)/My Favorite Moment of the Bee 2 Why We Like Spelling Prayer of the Comfort Counselor My Unfortunate Erection (Chip's Lament) Woe is Me I'm Not That Smart (Reprise) I Speak Six Languages The I Love You Song Woe is Me (Reprise) My Favorite Moment of the Bee 3/Second Finale The Last Goodbye


Cast

Name
Chip Tolentino
Name
Logainne Schwartzandgrubeniere (Schwartzy)
Name
Leaf Coneybear
Name
William Barfee
Name
Marcy Park
Name
Olive Ostrovsky
Name
Rona Lisa Peretti
Name
Douglas Panch
Name
Mitch Mahoney
Name
Carl Dad
Name
Dan Dad
Name
Jesus Christ
Name
Leaf's Mom, Dad, And Siblings
Name
Olive's Dad
Name
Olive's Mom

Around and Behind the Scenes - Our Volunteers

Costumes

Olga Ostrava
 

Canada Summer Jobs Associates

Claire Haig-Halsall: Production Assistant – Performing Arts 

Liam Eric Dawson: Production Coordinator – Performing Arts 

Vivien Illion: Administrative Assistant – Arts Management

Sid Malcolm: Community Engagement Assistant 

Emma Goulden: Development Coordinator – Fundraising & Outreach

 

Volunteers

Alibertti Loisy

 

Graphic Designer and Videographer

Kennon Vaughan (Human Planet Media)

 

Social Media Marketing

Matthew Seeley

 

Auditions Admin assistant

Janina Dziedziola

 

Silent Auction fundraising manager

Solomun Guish

 

Front of House and Concessions

 Janina Dziedziola, Don Dos Santos, Eulalie Walling-Sampson, Karen Sampson, Conroy Williams, Ben MacDonald

 

Photography

Sid Malcolm

 

Videography

Kennon Vaughan, Human Planet Media

 

 

Meet the Company

Name

Chip Tolentino

Name

Logainne Schwartzandgrubeniere (Schwartzy)

Name

Leaf Coneybear

Name

William Barfee

Name

Marcy Park

Name

Olive Ostrovsky

Name

Rona Lisa Peretti

Name

Douglas Panch

Name

Mitch Mahoney

Name

Carl Dad

Name

Dan Dad

Name

Jesus Christ

Name

Leaf's Mom, Dad, And Siblings

Name

Olive's Dad

Name

Olive's Mom

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Dr. Maurice Bygrave

owner of MVL Farm

 

Willowdale Presbyterian Church

The Church of St Peter and St Simon's Anglican Church

Toronto Music Alliance

 

Youth Costumes

Olga Orlava,

 

Front of House

Janina Dziedziola, Donizetti Dos Santos, Lars Treloar 

 

Hospitality Manager

Anneika Wint

 

Food Service

 Anneika Wint, Jenice Scott-Bryan
 

NST'S 2025 SUMMER STAGE SEASON

Silent Auction Donors

Our online Silent Auction is currently running, and it's a fantastic opportunity to help fund our 'SummerStage' 2025 season, which is extra special as it marks our 20th anniversary! Every winning bid directly contributes to building the identities of our Emerging Artists, helping them develop vital networks for their futures.

 

The auction runs until August 13th, 2025, so there's still time to get involved! We have some amazing items up for grabs, including:

 

  • A 1-week stay at a Marriott hotel (sleeps 6)
  • 2 Tickets to a 2025-2026 Theatre Passe Muraille show
  • Gift certificates to top Toronto florists, Ital Florist & Emblem Flowers
  • Music lessons from Toronto Music Alliance
  • And other exciting items!

 

You can find all the details and place your bids at: 32auctions.com/NSTAuction2025 or you can also see me to scan the QR Code below:

 

 

Thank you so much for your generous support of No Strings Theatre and the vibrant future of the performing arts!

 

2024-2025 Donors

2024-2025 DONORS

 

​

PRODUCER’S CIRCLE

$5000+

​

Dr. Maurice Bygrave

The Jackman Foundation

Voices of Colour Music 

​

​

DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE

$1500- $4999

​

Glen Barckert

Louise Davies

Toronto Music Alliance

​​​

​

DESIGNER’S CIRCLE

$500-$1499

​

I A Clarington Investments

Brian Cunha

William Shookhoff

Conroy Williams

​

​​​

MANAGER’S CIRCLE

$100-$499

​

Hon. Pamela Appelt

Erin Bell

Vanessa Bell

Ann Campbell

Sam Donkoh

Dr. Foch Douglas

Janina Dziedziola

Sarah Frost

Christine Kerr

Cynthia Ledgley

Kristina Nicolaides

Ruby Maynard

Karen Warner

Diana Yerichuk 

Anonymous

​​​

​

ACTOR’S CIRCLE

UP TO $99

​

John Davis

Marilyn Hintsa

Rosemary Hutchinson

Lorna Langit-Blennerhassett

Gloria Martin

Linda Litwack

Linda Schofield

Irena Seyarto - Hernandez

Charlie Sise

Zev Stone

Mr and Mrs Ian Walker

Anonymous

Anonymous

​

 

Board of Directors

Broadway News

THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE


 
Music and Lyrics by 
WILLIAM FINN
Book by
RACHEL SHEINKIN
Conceived by
REBECCA FELDMAN
Additional Material by
Jay Reiss
 
Originally Directed on Broadway by James Lapine
 
Originally produced on Broadway by
David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo
Barrington Stage Company, Second Stage Theatre
 
Based upon C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, an original play by The Farm.
 
The Barrington Stage Company workshop of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE was originally co-directed by Michael Barakiva and Rebecca Feldman.
 
 
 
 
Starring
 
Actors
Actors
Actors
Actors
Actors
Actors
Actors
Actors
Actors
 
Conceived by Rebecca Feldman , Additional Material by Jay Reiss , Music and Lyrics by William Finn , Book by Rachel Sheinkin
 
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