Spelling Bee

Nominated for six Tony Awards, and winning two, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee features an eclectic group of sixth graders (played by adult actors in uproariously comical caricatures), who arrive at a fictional spelling bee set in the geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School to vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime; the Bee is run by three equally quirky grown-ups. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming "ding" of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter - one speller leaves! At least the losers get a juice box!