Lilli Cooper Helps Bring a Beloved Musical Back to the New York Stage

“We had somebody misspell ‘cow’ a few nights ago for the first time ever,” says Lilli Cooper. “I think he said C-A-W. And then we rang the bell, and when he heard the bell, he was like, what? I think he was in shock that he had misspelled it himself.” Welcome to the “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” revival, running off-Broadway at the New World Stages theater, where the stage has been transformed to look like a middle school gymnasium. The stacked ensemble cast includes Tony-nominated theater stars like Cooper, nominated in 2019 for “Tootsie,” former “Boop!” lead Jasmine Amy Rogers and “Kimberly Akimbo” breakout Justin Cooley, along with “Glee” star Kevin McHale and other emerging talent. “The way that each actor plays their role is just so deliciously perfect and everyone is so funny,” says Cooper of her costars, convincingly aged down to adolescents onstage. “Even on stage, we’re making each other laugh all the time.” Cooper grew up in New York, but was just starting her own career during the show’s original Broadway run in 2005. “I actually never got a chance to see it on Broadway,” says Cooper, who as a teenager was one of the original cast members

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