The Tony winner and Olympic gold medalist will join the hit revival beginning Sept. 7 for its final extension
Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Nina Westervelt/Variety via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will welcome Ali Stroker and Laurie Hernandez to the cast before wrapping performances on Oct. 11
- Ali Stroker made history as the first wheelchair user to win a Tony Award for her role in Oklahoma!
- Laurie Hernandez, a 2016 Olympic gold medalist, recently debuted on Broadway in & Juliet after retiring from gymnastics
Ali Stroker is heading back to the New York stage — and she’ll have an Olympic gold medalist beside her!
The Tony Award winner and Laurie Hernandez will join the cast of the acclaimed revival of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee beginning Sept. 7, producers announced Thursday, Aug. 20.
Stroker, 39, will take over the role of former spelling bee champion Rona Lisa Peretti, while Hernandez will step into the shoes of politically outspoken speller Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre. They replace Alex Newell and Laura Marano, respectively, who will play their final performances on Sunday, Sept. 6.
Alongside Stroker and Hernandez is a cast that includes Jon Cryer as Vice Principal Douglas Panch, Justin Cooley as Leaf Coneybear, Nina White as Olive Ostrovsky, Philippe Arroyo as Chip Tolentino, Leana Rae Concepcion as Marcy Park and Matt Manuel as Mitch Mahoney.
Credit: Joan Marcus
The casting marks Stroker’s latest New York stage appearance following her 2022 run as Anne Page in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Richard III. The actress made history in 2015 as the first performer who uses a wheelchair to appear on Broadway when she starred as Anna in Deaf West Theatre’s revival of Spring Awakening.
Four years later, Stroker broke another barrier when she became the first actor who uses a wheelchair to win a Tony Award, taking home best featured actress in a musical for her performance as Ado Annie in the 2019 revival of Oklahoma!.
Hernandez, meanwhile, is continuing a new chapter in her career after making her Broadway debut earlier this year in & Juliet. The 26-year-old former gymnast studied drama at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts after retiring from the sport and has also worked as a broadcaster, author and performer.
She first became a household name as a member of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she won team gold and an individual silver medal on the balance beam. Later that year, Hernandez traded the balance beam for the ballroom and won season 23 of Dancing with the Stars.
Credit: Joan Marcus
Featuring a Tony-winning book by Rachel Sheinkin and a score by the late William Finn, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee follows six eccentric young contestants competing for a spelling championship as their personal stories unfold between increasingly difficult words — with a little audience participation thrown into the mix.
The musical first debuted Off-Broadway in 2005 before transferring to Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre, where it ran for nearly three years and won two Tony Awards.
This revival — the first major revival of the beloved musical —is directed and choreographed by Danny Mefford. It opened Off-Broadway on Nov. 17, 2025, after beginning previews Nov. 7 and went on to earn honors of its own, including the 2026 Lucille Lortel, Off Broadway Alliance and Dorian awards for Best Revival of a Musical.
The production has since been extended three times and will now play its final performance on Oct. 11
Tickets to The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee are now on sale.
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