Kevin McHale, best known for his role as Artie Abrams on Fox’s Emmy Award-winning series Glee, is taking on an exciting new opportunity and making his theatrical debut in the Kennedy Center’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Running through October 20, 2024, McHale has aspired to perform on stage for years and joins a company of Broadway favorites including Philippe Arroyo, Leana Rae Concepcion, Beanie Feldstein, Noah Galvin, Alex Joseph Grayson, Taran Killam, Bonnie Milligan, and Nina White.
Danny Mefford is directing and choreographing, while Roberto Sinha serves as music director.
Set at a fictional middle school spelling bee, a lovable band of misfits – plus a few lucky audience members – assemble to duke it out on their knowledge of word spellings and languages of origin. The musical initially premiered on Broadway in 2005 after an Off-Broadway run and features a Tony-winning book by Rachel Sheinkin and music and lyrics by two-time Tony winner William Finn.
McHale is portraying William Barfée, who uses his magic foot to write out the words on the ground before spelling them out loud. His personality is primarily rude, condescending, and closed-off, but he appears this way to protect himself from bullies. He is, in fact, a nice person behind the facade.
Instinct recently caught up with McHale to talk more about his Spelling Bee character, as well as what he hopes to gain from this experience and how he was pegged to be involved with the production. Additionally, he also reflects on his time with Glee, sharing how the show is resonating with a new generation of audiences, its lasting impact on LGBTQ+ youth, and what’s new with his hit podcast, And That’s What You Really Missed, which he co-hosts with fellow Glee star Jenna Ushkowitz.
Check out the full video interview below.
Kevin McHale…
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Click HERE for more information and to purchase tickets for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
