A-W-E-S-O-M-E

I always love William Finn, and 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is no exception. The show is full of funny character songs like "I'm Not That Smart" and "Woe is Me," but it also has real show pieces with "The I Love You Song" and "My Favorite Moment of the Bee." This show perfectly highlights Finn's ability to create quirky comedies with big hearts. It seems to always be in my CD player.

"Spelling Bee," is lovably clumsy perfection

S-W-E-E-T

This is by far one of the best original cast recordings in my collection. For those of us who go to see shows for the humor, the lyrics are sparkling and sweetly innocent in their satirical condemnation of the tortures to which we subject our over-achieving children. William Finn's score is characteristically eclectic, ranging from the over-the-top jazz hands numbers like Pandemonium and Magic Foot to breathtakingly beautiful ballads like The I Love You Song to farcically obscene pieces like M.U.E. The all-star cast is remarkably talented, and the overpowering enthusiasm and totally unselfconcious sense of humor that they bring to their characters on stage is perfectly translated in this recording. If you enjoyed anything from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels or Avenue Q to Falsettos, Songs for a New World, or Elegies: A Song Cycle, you are sure to enjoy this remarkable and completely original cast recording.