The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

October 18th and 19th, 2024 at Franklin Park Arts Center

Meet the Cast

Chip Tolentino
Rhett is beyond excited to be in his second STARS production! You may have previously seen him in STARS’ first show this summer, Zombie Prom (Josh), Fairfax High School’s productions of Anastasia and Sister Act, and CFTC’s A Christmas Story and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Rhett is also an independent filmmaker and photographer in his free time. If you’d like to check out his work it’s on instagram @rhett.films. He would like to thank Sierra Lockrem for putting together such an Incredible space for teens to shine and the whole cast for holding him accountable and loving him even though he hit John’s car. Enjoy the show!

Rona Lisa Peretti
How exciting! Madelyn, a junior at Centreville High School, is over the moon to join the cast and crew of the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee! After performing with Stars over the summer as Miss Strict in Zombie Prom: Atomic Edition, she can’t wait to be back for another stellar production. Some of her other favorite past roles include her Cappie-nominated performances as Cinderella in Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella and Charlie Bucket in Willy Wonka. While her only attempt at a spelling bee ended tragically with the word “hazmat,” she does love to read, write, and crochet in her free time. Finally, she’d like to thank the Spelling Bee cast and crew for a fantastic experience, and thank her friends and family for their endless support!

Olive Ostrovsky
Leah is so excited to be in her second Stars production! She was recently seen in Zombie Prom at Stars Performing Arts as Candy, Pippin at Oakton HS as Ensemble, Footloose at Westfield Summer Stage as Ensemble/Ariel u/s and is currently in The Crucible as Mary Warren at Oakton HS. She wants to thank Sierra Lockrem who made this show possible, and her fellow castmates who are some of her favorite people she's worked with! She hopes you enjoy!

Leaf Coneybear
John is thrilled to be joining the cast of Spelling Bee! Previously, John has been seen as Ren McCormack in Footloose (Westfield Summer Stage), Damian in Mean Girls (Oakton High School), and most recently, Teen Ensemble in The Little Mermaid (MUNY). In the last year, he has also choreographed over 10 musicals for various high schools, middle schools, and community theatres in the area, and recently directed STARS's debut production, Zombie Prom. Coming up, you can see his choreography in Justice High School's The Addams Family this November, or his direction and choreography in Franklin Middle School's Footloose this December. He would like to thank the entire cast and production team for making this process such a blast, his friends and family, and all of the teachers and mentors he's had along the way, especially Patrick O'Neill, Mr DiCenzo, Mr Godinez, and Sierra for everything they've taught him and all the opportunities they've given him. Enjoy the show!

Vice Principal Panch
David is so grateful to be ruining kid's dreams in Stars Performing Arts' production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. You might've seen him swindling children in Chantilly High School's production of Anything Goes as Moonface Martin; for which he was nominated for 'Best Supporting Actor in a Male Role in a Musical' at the Cappies, or refusing to sing in The Roguish Players' production of The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals as Paul Matthews. David thanks you for making the ridiculously long trek to Loudon County to see this show, and to everyone in the cast, crew, and his family for fueling his addiction.

Logainne Schwartzandgrubennierre
Allie is a sophomore at Herndon High School and is exhilarated to be performing in her second Stars Theatre Company production after being part of Zombie Prom this summer. Previous credits include The Drowsy Chaperone (ensemble) at Westfield Summer Stage, HHS’s Fiddler on the Roof(ensemble/Hodel u/s), Fairfax Academy’s production of Cry-Baby The Musical (Drapes ensemble), Legally Blonde Jr. (Elle Woods) at Herndon Middle School, RCP’s Delightful Quarantine (Jennifer) and Newsies (Nunzio), Carmen (Children's ensemble) with the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, and NextStop Theatre Company’s Matilda the Musical (Alice) and Freaky Friday (Adam). She would like to thank her family, friends, Sally Imbriano (vocal coach), Mr. DiCenzo, and the entire Spelling Bee production team & cast for their guidance and support. She implores you to vote this November 5th (if you are of age)! @allieblanchet

Mitch Mahoney
Morgan was previously seen as Bernard in Checking in, Mycroft in Miss Holmes, and will be seen as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream in November. They would like to thank all of their friends for always celebrating with them and cheering them on, their Mom for always loving and supporting them, and the cast and crew of Spelling Bee for an unforgettable and phenomenal musical experience.

William Barfée
Jake is so excited to be a part of the Spelling Bee cast! This is his first production with Stars and he is excited for you to see the show! Some of his favorite credits include: Specs (Newsies), Jake (Freckleface Strawberry), Bryce (Edward Tulane), Mr. Krabs (Spongebob), Miles Tuck (Tuck Everlasting), Nick Piazza (Fame), and Roger (Grease HS). He also received the award of Honorable Mention All Star Cast at the 2022 OAP district competition. He is currently playing Deputy Governor Danforth in The Crucible at Oakton High School. He hopes you enjoy the show and is so thankful to all of his amazing cast members!

Marcy Park
Jane is a junior at Herndon High School as well as Fairfax Academy’s MTAS program. Recently, Jane performed as Kitty in Westfield Summer Stages The Drowsy Chaperone as well as a Dancer in the 2024 National Capital Area Cappies Gala. Around the DMV area, she has been seen in the Christmas Angel World Premiere Production, Creative Cauldron (Miranda), A Delightful Quarantine, RCP (Diandra) Newsies, RCP (Les) A Christmas Carol, Nextstop (Fan) Matilda, Nextstop (Matilda) Annie, RCP (Molly) Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, RCP (Dixie Pollit), The Musical of Musicals, RCP (Junie Faye) Crybaby, MTAS Academy (Featured Dancer) Fiddler on The Roof, HHS (Bielke), LM Project (3 years) Upcoming Project: Macbeth at HHS (Witch) She would like to thank Mr Dicenzo, and her vocal coach Tina Boosahda for their endless encouragement and kindness, as well as her Mom, Kate Keifer for always being her number one supporter!

Reviews

“Shut the front door amazing. Truly truly loved the casting, the acting, the theater, and the 90 minute power through production!”
"Each performer was uniquely brilliant. They held my attention through the entire show! I LOVED the interactive components with the audience. The venue was perfect for the show and audience size. Such a fun experience."
"Polished, professional, and so entertaining! Well-worth the ticket price and the drive! Best version of Spelling Bee I’ve seen. "
"We loved it! The production quality was out of this world! Individual performances were also without compare. The show was funny and poignant and beautifully done. Congratulations!"
"Everyone cast in the show was incredibly talented and fit their role perfectly!! I was so impressed by the vocals and the acting. Such a fun show."
"It was perhaps my favorite play ever."