BRATTLEBORO — So what if you can't spell trichotillomania. Someone can, and that someone might just be on the stage of the Latchis Theatre on April 6 at 6 p.m., playing in the Fifth Annual “Spell Check! A Spelling Bee for Grown-Ups,” sponsored by Latchis Arts.
Join Master of Ceremonies Tom Bodett for the fifth year in a row as he weaves words into wordplay to host this popular, whimsical, bona fide grown-up spelling bee event. Lawyer/local radio host/Beekeeper Jim Maxwell will use his radio voice to pronounce and define. Judge Barb Sondag will then pass judgment on each team's spelling effort, with the able assistance of Little Bee Lucy Flynn and the bicycle horn.
Past winners are To Bee or Not to Bee (twice!), Expelliarmus, and The Straglurrs. Teams of three compete against each other and the dreaded Spell Check countdown jingle, composed for Spell Check by composer Derek Jordan.
There are preliminary, semi-final and final rounds, until the winning team emerges to claim bragging rights and its name on the Latchis Theatre marquee. This year's winners will have the honor of being the first team to grace the new marquee.
This “made for prime time” event is a successful fundraiser for Latchis Arts, dedicated to preserving the historic Latchis Theatre and promoting the arts.
The community is invited to spell along - silently, of course - and cheer on the spelling teams. Tickets can be purchased at BrattleboroTix.com or at the door. Tickets are $10 for grown-ups and $8 for kids.
There will be a raffle prize drawing at the event, with no need to be present to win. Grand prize is two tickets to attend a live taping of NPR's “Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me” at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass., this August, as well as prizes donated by local businesses. Raffle tickets are $5 each, or 5 for $20, and can be purchased by contacting spellcheck@latchisarts.org and at the Latchis Theatre during “Spell Check!”
Trichotillomania, incidentally, is hair loss from repeated urges to pull or twist the hair until it breaks off.