Step aside Lansing-area spelling bees; a new, more hip one is coming to town. In this new bee, students not only spell, but sing their way through the gut-wrenching competition. Students and adults alike will uncover their pasts and rediscover their personalities. The Ruhala Center for Performing Arts is bringing the lovable characters of The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee to the Lansing area.

This Broadway show was nominated for six Tony awards and ultimately won two awards, including Best Book. Its successes on Broadway resulted in a U.S. tour and an Australian production following the end of the run in January 2008.

The show centers on a spelling bee held at Putman Valley Middle School. The 10 students, four of whom are picked from the audience, compete in a spelling bee on stage. Intermixed among the actual spelling of words, the students' quirky and diverse lives surface and are dealt with amidst the competition.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Ruhala Center for Performing Arts, East Lansing March 12-14, Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. $15, $10 seniors & children 12 and under ruhalacenter.com, (517) 337-0464

"There are some really deep psychological truths of the characters," Mark Ruhala, artistic/executive director of Ruhala Center said.

Because Spelling Bee has been performed many times before, Ruhala said he wanted to take a different angle on the show. He said the characters' psychological issues are present in the text. But, unlike the Broadway production, he plans on incorporating them more in to their production.

"I want to bring out the sadness of the characters and what's happening in their lives," Ruhala said.

One character, Leaf Coneybear, deals with issues of feeling like the "dumb one" amongst his six other siblings. Chip Tolentino is the returning champion, but puberty hits him at the wrong moment in the competition. And Olive Ostrovsky has a mother in India and a workaholic father, who rarely makes it to her after school activities.

The Ruhala Center for Performing Arts offers dance, singing and acting classes along with different theatre ensembles. The four-year-old Center helps prepare students to enter the theatre industry. Ruhala said he has some students in college theatre programs and some in the industry already. He said his role is not only to help the students better their skills but also be realistic about the profession.