William “Bill” Finn, the acclaimed writer and composer of the 1992 musical Falsettos and 2005’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, died Monday, April 7, following a lengthy illness. He was 73.

Finn loved the Berkshires and had a long relationship with the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, which presented the premiere of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" in a

An acclaimed musical theater writer, he won for both his score and his book and later had a huge hit with “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”