The pressure is on to win the spelling bee.

At least that’s where Tabor Academy found the humor last weekend for its latest musical, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

Written in 2004 by Rebecca Feldman and with music and lyrics by William Finn, the musical focuses on six students and their drive, or lack thereof, to win the local spelling competition.

The characters are stereotypical geeks, loners, and overachievers. How each character reacts to the competition is where the comedy lies, according to junior Colby Magratten.

Junior Colby Magratten, a native of Providence, Rhode Island, is the show’s assistant director, stage manager, and costume designer.

Whether the characters are bad-mouthing one another or deliberately sabotaging their own win to prove something to their parents, they each reveal something real about themselves that also happens to make for great song and dance, she said.

“I think we’re all nerds at heart,” Magratten said. “Musical comedies are light and fun. At the end of a hard week it’s nice to have something light.”

As with all Tabor productions, this show gave students the opportunity to get involved both on and off the stage.

Having three jobs with this production can make for a lot of work, but Magratten says she is loving the challenge.

“It’s hard because it’s the little things that worry me, but I manage it somehow,” she said. “I’m nervous because I put so much into this I just want it to go well, but I know the cast is going to do great.”

Senior Claire Knowlton is also enjoying being both a cast and a crew member. Knowlton, a Milton native, portrayed overachiever Marcy who insults her fellow spellers but ends up deliberately losing the contest to prove she doesn’t have to be perfect. Off stage, Knowlton is the show’s choreographer.

“I worked really hard all summer choreographing the dances, but then I got here and I could see the cast doing the dances that I made up in my head. They really liked them and it’s a great feeling,” she said.

As for the director, English teacher Mark Howland said that having such a committed cast and crew has made for a smooth production.

“The kids are doing a great job because they are really owning it,” Howland said. “They make it work.”