SALAMANCA — Since the first week of January, students in the Salamanca City Central School District drama club have been practicing their singing, acting, dancing and spelling for this year’s spring musical.

Beginning March 24, the Salamanca Drama Club will perform “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” for two nights in the junior-senior high school auditorium.

The long one-act musical comedy centers on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School. Six quirky adolescents compete in the Bee run by three equally quirky grown-ups.

Conceived by Rebecca Feldman, the music and lyrics are by William Finn with book by Rachel Sheinkin.

“Rehearsals have went swimmingly,” said Eric Kemnitzer, the producer and vocal director of the production. “This is my first year at Salamanca, and I am absolutely thrilled to be working with the students!”

Kemnitzer previously served as the vocal director for Cardinal O’Hara’s drama productions from 2013 to 2016, including “Footloose,” “Mary Poppins” and “Anything Goes.”

“It’s perfect for the size of our cast and the character of our students,” he said. “They can really be a comical bunch and I know they will really do it justice.”

Although the cast is comprised of younger and older students, both experienced and inexperienced, Kemnitzer said the cast and crew work well together.

As a production that has continuous action with no intermission and nearly two dozen musical numbers, the cast and crew have been using every minute of their rehearsals to prepare.

“There will be a lot of fine tuning, set work and lighting,” Kemnitzer said of the final two rehearsal weeks. “Students will be putting in a lot of time over the next couple of weeks.”

Kemnitzer said the many vocal rehearsals has been the highlight of the production, but the biggest challenge has been for the students to balance their busy schedules.

The pit orchestra is smaller, consisting of piano, a couple wind instruments, synthesizer and percussion, but the number and variety of songs alone will have you leaving the show humming all the way home.

“This is definitely the goofiest of all the shows I have done,” Kemnitzer said. “Lucky for me, I love comedy, as does the cast. It is ridiculously funny!”

The curtain rises at 7 p.m. Friday, March 24 and Saturday, March 25 in the Salamanca Junior-Senior High School auditorium. Purchase tickets at the door, $8 for adults and $7 for students and seniors.

For more information about the production, call 945-2404.