The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The Subtenant

2008

A farce about blackmailing, a kidney transplant operation performed at home, deviants and human relationships.

Biloxi Blues

1988

Eugene, an aspiring writer from Brooklyn, is drafted into the US Army during the final months of World War II. For his basic training, the Army sends him to Camp Shelby in Mississippi, where toil, bad food, and antisemitic jibes await. Eugene takes refuge in his sense of humor and in his diary, but they won't protect him in a battle of wills with an unstable drill sergeant.

Hate Mail

2020

Hate Mail is an epistolary play something like Love Letters, with two actors reading letters and other correspondence, but it's a little wilder and more hysterically funny. It tells the story of Preston, a spoiled rich kid who meets his match in Dahlia, an angst-filled artist. Their worlds collide when Preston sends a complaint letter that gets Dahlia fired from her job, and then there's no turning back. The play stays with their increasingly crazed correspondence as they move from hate to love, and then right back again.

Show Boat

1951

A dashing Mississippi river gambler wins the affections of the daughter of the owner of the Show Boat.

Barefoot in the Park

1967

In this film based on a Neil Simon play, newlyweds Corie, a free spirit, and Paul Bratter, an uptight lawyer, share a sixth-floor apartment in Greenwich Village. Soon after their marriage, Corie tries to find a companion for mother, Ethel, who is now alone, and sets up Ethel with neighbor Victor. Inappropriate behavior on a double date causes conflict, and the young couple considers divorce.

Gypsy

1993

Rose Hovick lives to see her daughter June succeed on Broadway by way of vaudeville. When June marries and leaves, Rose turns her hope and attention to her elder, less obviously talented, daughter Louise. However, having her headlining as a stripper at Minsky's Burlesque is not what she initially has in mind.

Everything You Want

2005

A visionary and artistic young woman finds her love torn between her imaginary boyfriend and a real boy from one of her classes.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

1966

A wily slave must unite a virgin courtesan and his young smitten master to earn his freedom.

Nevesta

1969

The Cocoanuts

1929

During the Florida land boom, the Marx Brothers run a hotel, auction off some land and thwart a jewel robbery.

Lemonade Joe

1964

A satire of the Great American Way, with Lemonade Joe a "clean living" gunfighter who drinks only Kola-Loca Lemonade and convinces everyone else in town (with his gun skills) that all "real men" drink ONLY lemonade!

The Importance of Being Earnest

1952

Algernon Moncrieff is surprised to discover that his affluent friend -- whom he knows as "Ernest" -- is actually named Jack Worthing. Jack fabricated his alter ego in order to escape his country estate where he takes care of his charge, Cecily Cardew. Cecily believes that Ernest is Jack's wayward brother and is keen on his raffish lifestyle. Algernon, seeing an opportunity, assumes Ernest's identity and sneaks off to woo Cecily.

Kiss Me, Kate

1958

Broadcast live on the Hallmark Hall of Fame series on NBC, a pair of divorced actors are brought together to participate in a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew. Of course, the couple seem to act a great deal like the characters they play, and they must work together when mistaken identities get them mixed up with the mafia.

Camelot

1967

The plot of his illegitimate son Mordred to gain the throne, and Guinevere's growing attachment to Sir Lancelot, threatens to topple King Arthur and destroy his "round table" of knights.

Blithe Spirit

1945

An English mystery novelist invites a medium to his home, so she may conduct a séance for a small gathering. The writer hopes to gather enough material for the book he's working on, as well as to expose the medium as a charlatan. However, proceedings take an unexpected turn, resulting in a chain of supernatural events being set into motion that wreak havoc on the man's present marriage.