South Valley CiViC theatrepresents

The 25th AnnualPutnam County

Spelling Bee Music and Lyrics by William Finn Book by Rachel Sheinkin

Conceived by Rebecca FeldmanAdditional 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 directed by Michael Barakiva and Rebecca Feldman.

The Farm was founded in 2000 by Rebecca Feldman, Artistic Director. It is a collective of writers and performers, including Jay Reiss, Dan Fogler, and Sarah Saltzberg. The Farm’s interest

is in the role of improvisation in creating new work for the theatre. The Farm initially desig-nates a two-week intensive period in which to discover, develop and rehearse a play from the impulses borne mainly out of the pressure of a deadline. Previous projects include “Super” (at Atlantic Theatre Studios), “Why I Hate Florida” (workshop at White Wave in DUMBO) and “C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E” (at the present Company Theatorium in October, 2002), on which

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is based. The character and original dialogue of “Beth Marguiles,” “Vice President Douglas Panch,” “Mr. Barfee,” and “Logan Schwartzengrube-

nierre” were created by Rebecca Feldan, Jay Reiss, Dan Fogler, and Sarah Saltzberg, respectively.

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.

421 West 54th Street, New York, NY, 10019 Phone 212-541-4684 Fax: 212-397-4684

Dear Patrons,

I think we all have childhood memories of spelling bees: moments of pride, of joy, of courage, of anticipation, of fear, of regret, of failure. No matter what happened, we learned something, from obscure word spellings to stage fright. It should be no surprise then that a clever musical about a spelling bee would capture our rapt attention. It should be a surprise, however, to see adults playing chil-dren. This under-used technique in comedy has much to commend it, as our over-achieving cast and production staff will teach today.

This fun, innovative musical finds its origins in an original improvisational play named “C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E.” (“Crepuscule” is a French-derived, rarely used word mean-ing “twilight.” In classic spelling bee style, I’ll now use it in a sentence: “Crepuscule” is not a bad foreign-language horror film about a “creepy school,” or a crepe recipe using mussels … but it should be.) Anyway, after a Broadway run of almost 3 years, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was produced in many U.S. and foreign cities, including translated versions in Korea and Germany. Not bad for a show less than a decade old.

Speaking of students, our next show will be James and the Giant Peach. We had so many deserving local children audition a couple weeks ago that our brave and foolhardy volunteer producers have decided to expand the number of performances and run two separate casts, one older and one younger. Visit www.svct.org for the expanded schedule of performances. It’s a show sure to delight kids of all ages. Hey, that’s our mission.

Rob Christopher Board President, South Valley Civic Theatre

MuSiCal NuMberS

Act 1

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee The Rules

My Friend The Dictionary Audience Goodbye

Pandemonium I’m Not That Smart

Magic Foot Chip Goodbye

Prayer Of The Comfort Counselor

----- INTERMISSION ----

Act II

Chip’s Lament Woe Is Me

Spelling MontageConeybear Goodbye

I Speak Six LanguagesThe I Love You Song

SecondOlive & Barfee Pas De Deux

the CaSt

The Spellers(in order of appearance)

Antonio Silva………………………………….....Chip Tolentino / Jesus

Christy Wright…………………… Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere

Peter Mandel………………………...….…Leaf Coneybear / Carl Dad

Mark Blattel………………………………...…….……..William Barfee

Amy McElroy……………………………………………….Marcy Park

Vivienne Castillo………………………...………….…Olive Ostrovsky

The Adults(in order of appearance)

Elizabeth Calisi……………….……….Rona Lisa Peretti / Olive’s Mom

Jayson Stebbins....………………………...Vice Principal Douglas Panch

Manuel Silva………………….Mitch Mahoney / Dan Dad / Olive’s Dad

Thank You to Our Set Construction & Load In Teams:

Andrew, Janell, Mark, Matthew, Joshua and Nathan Cummings; Christine, Jim, Megan and Emily Carrillo, Amy, McKena and Hana McElroy;

Antonio and Manuel Sliva; Vanessa Mouzes; Rachelle Menjivar; Mark Blattel; Vivienne Castillo; Samantha and Gabriel Quijano; Christy Wright; Peter Mandel; Elizabeth Calisi; Jayson Stebbins; Robin Bezanson,

Robin Harris; Beth and Wayne Dewey; Patricia and Alexandra Hannon; Rob Christopher; Greg Colbert; Gerry Blanchard; Nicole LaJeunesse;

Rich Kaiser; Robert Barham; and Sheryl Astalos.

Special thanks to Johnson Lumber for assisting us with building materials for our gymnasium floor and to Sheryl Astalos

for the hours of painting that turned it into a floor.

the Staff

Co-Producer................................................................Lisa Singleton Quijano

Co Producer..........................................................................Elizabeth Mandel

Director..............................................................................Andrew Cummings

Vocal Director ..............................................................................Carol Harris

Musical Director...........................................................................Mike Rubino

Choreographer....................................................................Christine Carrillo

Stage Manager.........................................................................Janell Cummings

Scenic Designer.................................................................Andrew Cummings

Master Carpenter...........................................................Matthew Cummings

Lighting Designer.........................................................................Peter Mandel

Costume Designer....................................................Eleanor Grace Harnett

Properties Designer........................................................................Lori Foster

House Manager..............................................................................Beth Dewey

Lobby Designer...............................................................................Jim Carrillo

Lighting Operator.................................................................Laura Longshore

Lighting Operator..............................................................Nathan Cummings

Lighting Operator........................................................................Lexi Mallette

Sound Operator......................................................................Victor deGroot

Videographer........................................................................Mauricio Quijano

Orchestra

Conductor...........................................................Mike Rubino / Carol Harris

Piano...........................................................................................Marilyn Guerin

Percussion..............................................Andrew Hathaway / Kirk Berkland

Clarinet/Saxophone..................................................................Brandi Rubino

Synthesizer......................................................................................Steve Farrell

Stage Crew Brandon Morales Eleanor Grace Harnett

Beth Harnett Jessica Damron

CaSt biographieS

Mark Blattel (William Barfee)

Mark frequently performs with Lyric Theatre and The Lamplighters, mostly in operettas, but with occasional forays into musical theater. Previously seen with SVCT as The Wolf in Into the Woods and the Lion in Wizard of Oz,he is now getting a chance to portray an actualhuman … except twelve-year-old boys are probably a sort of animal unto themselves. Elsewhere, he has appeared as Archie (The Secret Garden), The King (Cinderella) and Mr. Snow (Carousel). A video game programmer by profession, he is also very familiar with the proper spelling of “lycanthropy.”

Elizabeth Calisi (Rona Lisa Peretti, Olive’s Mom)

Elizabeth is D-E-L-I-G-H-T-E-D to be returning in another production with SVCT! She states, “I’ve really had a ball working alongside such strong talent.” Elizabeth would like to blow kisses to her two chitlins AJ and Presley , whom she loves to “Reese’s pieces.” She dedicates her performances to her mother, aka “Jean Jean the Dancing Machine” for co- managing the rest of her life while she developed Rona. “Mamacita you are the best living example of what true love is. Thank you for a lifetime of joy and sacrifice.“

Elizabeth is also part of the leadership committee at the SJ Leukemia Lymphoma Society. She would love to share more about her mission by inviting you to log onto her team website: http://pages.lightthenight.org/sj/SanJose12/teamaj and she reminds us that September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Her team’s mantras include ... FROM CARING COMES COURAGE and CANCER SCHMANCER!

Vivienne Castillo (Olive Ostrovsky)

Vivienne is a 21-year-old singer/songwriter/entrepreneur from Morgan Hill. She was seen recently as Sissy Miller in SVCT’S Damn Yankees! and not so recently as Mama Mae in SVCT’s Bye Bye Birdie. She’s delighted to be working with Andrew Cummings again, as he puts on killer shows, and this fabulous cast because it is truly fabulous. [Seriously, though, have you seen it? It’s amazing.] And she is so very grateful to be given a chance to show her serious side. It is also shows like this when she’s ever so grateful for her amazing vocal coach, Dr. Dehner. Thanks, mom and dad, for not being like Olive’s mom and dad. Enjoy the show; it’s absolute pandemonium!

Peter Mandel (Leaf Coneybear, Carl Dad)

Peter is very happy to be in Putnam County Spelling Bee, one of the most fun recent Broadway musical hits. Performing in one of his favorite shows with such a talented cast and staff has been a joy! Peter has performed with SVCT and other regional theater groups in many shows, including Pageant (Frankie Cavalier), Curtains (Oscar Shapiro), Into The Woods (Narrator), Noises Off (Freddy), 1776 (John Adams), Guys and Dolls (Nathan Detroit), and How 2 Succeed (JP Fitch). When he’s not performing, he is a member of the Morgan Hill Board of Education, and makes a living managing software at IBM.

Amy McElroy (Marcy Park)

As a jack-of-all-trades and master of none, Amy currently works as a freelance editor and yoga instructor, yet she has never let go of her childhood desire to perform. In 4th grade, she stepped in and directed her elementary school choir’s Christmas performance when the director was ill. In junior high, she spent a year trying to be cool as a cheerleader, executing splits and high kicks. In high school, she played the mother in Ordinary People. In college, she played Agnes, in Agnes of God. Since then, her performance has turned to focus on the younger generation: teaching one semester of music and theater at Charter School of Morgan Hill, choreographing and co-directing chil-dren’s theater in Gilroy, teaching children’s theater at the Morgan Hill Community Center, and (most importantly) supporting her daughters’ journey to explore the performing arts. Amy is humbled to be part of this amazing cast and would like to dedicate her performance to her husband, Kyle, and daughters, Makena and Hana, who enthusiasti-cally supported her return to the stage after 23 years.

Antonio Silva (Chip Tolentino, Jesus)

Antonio is the Technology Director at a grade school in Morgan Hill. Due to his busy work/school schedule, this is his first show after a 5-year hiatus. He previously starred in Footloose, Once Upon a Mattress, Aladdin Jr., and The Fantasticks and played supporting roles in Company and 1776, all of which were with SVCT. He is excited to be back on stage and involved in such a hilarious show. He would like to thank Peter Mandel for encouraging him to get involved. He would also like to thank his wonderful fiancée, Rachelle, for all of her love and support through the crazy hours of rehearsals and work.

Manuel Silva (Mitch Mahoney, Dan Dad, Olive’s Dad)

By day, Manuel is a mild-mannered technical writer who enjoys tinkering with computers. By night, he acts. Though he set aside the mic and put away the script for four years after acting as Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors, Manuel is returning to the stage for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He would like to thank his lovely girlfriend Vanessa for putting up with his rehearsal schedule and Peter for encouraging him and his brother Antonio to audition, and. Enjoy the show.

Jayson Stebbins (Vice Principal Douglas Panch)

Jayson is a regular on stage in the South County, most recently in The Love List and Looking with Pintello Comedy Theater. This is Jayson’s first show with SVCT since 1994 when he was in Deathtrap at age 22. He was thrilled to recently be a part of the flight crew on Wizard of Oz and fly his son, Andrew, who was in his first SVCT show. Hobbies include golfing, reading, playing golf, sports, Baby Emma Grace, and also golf-ing. Jayson wants to thank his wife and family as always for the sacrifices they make that allow him to be on stage.

Christy Wright (Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere)

Christy Wright is a senior at San Jose State University studying both Psychology and Musical Theatre. She has been acting for 15 years, and a few of her favorite roles include Elle in Legally Blonde: The Musical, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Susan in Once in a Lifetime, Gertie in Oklahoma, Ruth in My Sister, Eileen, Constance in Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet). This is her first time acting in an SVCT production, and she has had an amazing time with the extraordinary cast and efficient and organized crew and production staff. She would like to especially thank Andrew for being such an amazing director, friend, and inspiration.

September 14,15,16, 21,22,23, 28,29,30

October 5,6,7, 11,12

Presents

14 Performances

408.472.3292 www.Limel ightActorsTheater.com

Directed by K. DaVette See

By Robert Harling

One Salon Six FriendsTwo Casts

Twelve Bay Area Actresses

South Valley Civic Theatre

Greg Edgar First Vice President Wealth Advisor 20400 Stevens Creek Blvd|Ste 350 Cupertino, CA 95014 +1 408 861-2051 Greg.Edgar@MSSB.com

A Morgan Stanley Company

© 2010 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC. NY CS 6316549 SUP009 06/10 GP10-01281P-N06/10

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is proud to sponsor

Staff biographieS

Lisa Singleton Quijano - Co-Producer

This is the third play Lisa has co-produced for SVCT, and she feels very honored to be working with Andrew, Carol, Elizabeth, Christine, Janell and Eleanor, as well as the amazingly talented Spelling Bee cast. This is also Lisa’s third year on the South Valley Civic Theatre’s Board of Directors, and she can occasionally be seen on stage as well, with her favorite role being Penelope Sycamore in You Can’t Take It with You. Outside of the theatre, Lisa teaches English to foreign-born graduate students and profession-als at Stanford University and she is a mother of three. She thanks her husband Mauricio and children Samantha, Nicholas, and Gabriel for supporting her participation in this wonderful theatre group and this funny, poignant musical!

Elizabeth Mandel - Co-Producer

Elizabeth has been involved with SVCT for 20+ years, supporting her husband Peter and their daughters. Her past participation has ranged from seamstress to rehearsal pianist to chauffeur to house manager to fan. While Elizabeth has never producedfor SVCT before, she did launch the Nordstrom Elementary musical theatre program 11 years ago, producing their first show. Elizabeth has found the process of bringing together all the components of this production very rewarding. She has particularly enjoyed observing Andrew and this extremely talented cast working together to create the quirky, engaging middle school students that you see on stage. Enjoy!

Andrew Cummings - Director

Andrew Cummings is a graduate of UC Berkeley’s Department of Theater and Performance Studies, and Spelling Bee marks his ninth directorial endeavor. Previous productions include Sweeney Todd (Bare Stage Productions), Children of Eden(BareStage), The King and I (SVCT), Goodnight Desdemona...Good Morning Juliet (Live Oak), and Arsenic and Old Lace (SVCT). Andrew is also passionate about scenic design (Spelling Bee is his 23rd design to date!) and acting (An Ideal Hus-band- UCB TDPS, Our Town- UCB TDPS, Twelfth Night- Fore Players Theater, Into the Woods- Barestage). “Thanks to the staff who never get the thanks they deserve, the actors for their willingness and talents, the family for being (mostly) willing slaves, and the Christy for being my favorite person in the whole wide world.” Carol Harris - Vocal Director

Carol is well known in the Gilroy/Morgan Hill area as a singer, actor, director, designer and pianist. After receiving her B.S. in music education from the University of New York at Fredonia, she taught vocal and instrumental music in New York and California public schools. Retired for over ten years, Carol is active in the South County Art Scene. She is on the Board of Directors of the Gilroy Arts Alliance, Chairman of the City of Gilroy Art and Culture Commission, teaches piano, accompanies the Gilroy High School Choirs, is a Music Minister at St. Mary Parish, does private vocal coaching, and writes the monthly Art Du Jour column for the Gilroy Dispatch. On stage, she most recently appeared as Peggy in Weekend Comedy at Limelight Actor’s Theater and is directing SVCT’S next children’s show, James and the Giant Peach.

Carol has enjoyed working with Andrew, Lisa, Elizabeth, Christine, and the talented cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She gives the cast an A+ for their hard work and dedication and hopes they remember to spell their words correctly!

Christine Carrillo - Choreographer

Christine has been an active member of SVCT since 2007 and has participated on stage as well as off. On-stage credits include: It’s a Wonderful Life, Into the Woods, Curtains and The Wizard of Oz, just to name a few. Christine has choreographed several children and teen shows, but this is the first time she has choreographed a show with an all-adult cast. The question is, does this count as an adult show, if the adults are por-traying teens? Either way she is thrilled to be a part of this wonderful production. The cast and crew are a joy to work with and have pro-vided many belly laughs throughout rehearsals. Christine thanks you for coming and hopes you enjoy the show.

Mike Rubino - Musical Director

Mike’s career in education has spanned starting a high school music program through winning a first national marching band competition (Bands of America, 1976 and 1978); cultural music exchanges exposing over 800 students to diverse cultures in China, Soviet Union, Japan, Thailand, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Singapore, and Malaysia; to elementary music education for the Morgan Hill Unified School District.

As director of the Live Oak Emerald Regime Band, Morgan Hill, CA (1971-1998), Mike’s tenure included two MBA Grand National cham-pionships, over 8 years as California State Champion and numerous awards for concert, symphonic and jazz band. Under Mike’s leader-ship, the LOER performed in the Rose Bowl (77), Orange Bowl and Macy Day Parades and was included in a national milk commercial and two local auto commercials. Mike was recently inducted into the Music for All / Bands of America Hall of Fame. 2011.

Mike has been musical director for many musicals; a partial list includes Grease, Little Shop of Horrors, My Fair Lady, Oliver, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Bye, Bye Birdie, West Side Story, Bells are Ringing and Guys and Dolls.

Janell Cummings - Stage Manager

Janell has been director, stage manager or back stage helper for many different theater groups overthe past 12 years. Most recently she directed On the Town (SVCT) and Seussical (Nordstrom Elementary). She is pleased to be working on another show with her talented sons: Andrew (director), Matthew (master carpenter), Joshua (set construction) and Nathan (lighting tech). Janell would particularly like to thank Andrew for the “opportunity” to help turn yet another of his ambitious scenic designs into reality. She would also like to thank her husband Mark, who doesn’t get home-cooked meals for weeks at a time whenever she is off on another theatrical endeavor.

Eleanor Grace Harnett - Costume Designer

Eleanor is a senior at Ann Sobrato High where she is very active in the Anime & Manga Club and the Drama Club. This is her second time costuming, her last time being Sobrato’s Rumors, and first time costuming for SVCT, but she is no stranger to this theatre group. She has been involved with 17 SVCT shows over the past 10 years this spring: performing, doing backstage tech and light tech, and now costuming. She is very pleased to have been given this chance and wants to thank everyone who encouraged her. She hopes that you enjoy the show!

2012 - 2013 South Valley CiViC theatre MeMberS

To become a member, please visit our membership table in the lobby!

BenefactOr

Martin Baccaglio Chalgren Enterprises Jake Simonelli Anderson Don & Karen Christopher Robert & Ginny Christopher Beth & Wayne Dewey Out & About Magazine

spOnsOr

Mary Beth & Jeff Anderson Barham family Bill & Ruby Hart

patrOn

Johanna, Grandie Jackson, Amazing Grace, Maggie May, Jeddie Sweet Boy Gil Family Tom & Tina Bundros Glynis Crabb Mandel family Pintello Comedy Theater Barbara & Chuck Smith Jon Szczepaniak Larry & Patti Warren Kel Whisner family

family

Mr. & Mrs Allen Benitez family Bezanson family Margaret & Don Bianucci Eileen & David Boll Borgia FamilyBushman family Carrillo family Alan & Helen Chipman Colbert family Doughty family Matt & Chris EvesJohn Fletcher Foster family Zack Goller Gomes family Hamilton family Harvey & June HammerHarnett family Jason & Robin Harris Tom & Anne Hepner Hernandez Family Rob & Tina Ingenthron Knappe FamilyJanie & Roger Knopf The Kogan family Charles & Janice KrahenbuhlKathy Longoria Scott Lynch Linda & David MatuszakMcElroy family McGill family Miles family Nancy & Mark Miller Eric & Robin Nielsen Oliphant familyQuijano family Devette See family Sepuleveda/Merrill family Tom & Teri Shipe Snook / Hurtado family Sperry familyMark & Cheryl Thompson John & Rose Tom Ray & Mary TrimbleVinkhuyzen family Walling family Paul & Christine WheelerTeresa Widdowson Robert Zeiher

sVct memBers (cOntinued)indiVidual

Iris Aguirre Sandra Aranda Joseph Biafore Jr. Denee Bohnsack Brittani Bombino Fannie CurroEsperanza Dela Torre Danielle Dokter Karen EhrenfeldtMonica Evans Rosalind Farotte Lauren FentElisabeth Gonzales Megan Griffin Alexandra HannonPatricia Hannon Carol Harris Sandra LewandowskiStephanie Marquez Valarie Martin William Mealor Kim & Christine Merrill Kevin Miles Mckenna MilesJoyce A. Nehlsen Fernando Ortega Trudy ParksJames Pearson Faith Protsman John RachuyJoy Reynolds Christy Roush Michael O. Shay Jake Smith Pamela K. Stallings Bill TindallKathy Tom Larry Tom Tracy Van Gundy

thank yOu!South Valley Civic Theatre is a not-for-profit organization run by

dedicated volunteers and funded by ticket sales and generous sponsors and advertisers. Their combined contributions of money, talent

and time bring great theater to the South Valley. We thank them all.

But mostly we thank you, our audience!Elizabeth Mandel & Lisa Singleton Quijano, Producers

special thanks tOMartin Baccaglio for making warehouse space available ~ affordably.

Booksmart for their ongoing support of SVCT and for selling our tickets!

South Valley Internet for hosting the SVCT web site.

Ohlone College TV Broadcasting Department for the loan of professional videotaping equipment

Mainstreet Media (The Gilroy Dispatch & The Morgan Hill Times)for giving our shows special consideration in their newspapers.

Teresa Widdowson, Digital Moon Studios for bringing our characters to Public Access Television - MHAT (Morgan Hill) and CMAP (Gilroy)

Rebecca Little, Portraits by Rebecca for the incredible photos, which captured the essence of our middle-schoolers.

2012 - 2013 SVCt board of direCtorS

President...............Rob Christopher Past President......Beth Dewey Treasurer...............Max BushmanVP Box Office.......Ray Trimble Secretary..................Lisa QuijanoVP Advertising......Scott Lynch VP Membership....Greg Colbert

Sandra Aranda Robin Harris Robert Barham Peter Mandel Robin Bezanso n Trudy Parks Bud Biafore Kathy Tom Gerry Blanchard Jon Szczepaniak Glynis Crabb Kel Whisner Patricia Hannon Tracy Van Gundy

the traditioN of the gypSy robe

Each SVCT production awards the “Gypsy Robe” to a chorus member who has made special ontributions of time and energy

towards the good of the show. The robe is presented to the recipient on opening night; the cast member puts on the robe and

blesses the stage before the performance. It is then the duty of the recipient to affix to the robe a patch taht signifies the show. The Gypsy Robe is then returned closing night to perform its

duty for another show and carry on the tradition.

The producers of The 25th Annual Spelling Bee are pleasedto present the Gypsy Robe to:

Amy McElroy