Something Rotten!'s John Cariani to Serve as "Comfort Counselor" for Broadway Bee

Something Rotten! star John Cariani has signed on to serve as Comfort Counselor for the first annual Broadway Bee, set for Monday, May 9, at 7pm at the Cutting Room.

The benefit event, supporting the performing arts education organization Broadway Bound Kids, will feature Paige Davis (Chicago), Laura Michelle Kelly (Finding Neverland), Tony winner Christian Borle (Something Rotten!), and Jose Llana (The King and I). Broadway cast members also participating in the Broadway Bee include Drew Gehling (Waitress), Karl Kenzler (Fiddler on the Roof), Joseph Medeiros (Matilda The Musical), Jonah Platt (Wicked), Lauryn Ciardullo (Aladdin), and Jessica Keenan Wynn (Beautiful — The Carole King Musical).

The adult-only spelling bee is hosted by Rebecca Feldman and Jay Reiss, the original creators of the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The event is described as follows: "Ten teams, each representing a Broadway show, are encouraged to pull out all the stops to correctly spell the words. Cheating is encouraged and drinking is allowed — the more funds each team raises, the more they will get to cheat! As the Comfort Counselor, Cariani will console each Broadway speller and escort them off stage when they misspell a word."

Founded in 2004, Broadway Bound Kids provides school-based performing arts residencies, community-based workshops and summer programs, master classes with Broadway professionals, full-scale musical productions, and trips to see Broadway shows. The goal is to ensure that all kids have access to the performing arts regardless of their financial resources.

For tickets and more information, click here.