Getting into C-H-A-R-A-C-T-E-R

Two years ago, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" premiered at Barrington Stage Company. It went on to become a Tony Award-winning hit on Broadway. Now the musical about a group of hypercompetitive, spelling-obsessed kids vying to be the B-E-S-T is making its Boston debut at the Wilbur Theatre, starting Tuesday .

"When I started writing the show, I thought it was about the incipient horrors of adulthood," says ``Spelling Bee" composer and lyricist William Finn. 'I realized the more I worked on it that that is exactly what it's not about. These people for the first time in their lives feel kind of normal. Everyone's competitive in their own way, and so are these people, but they never had a chance to be competitive on the athletic field. The world of the mind is the arena they were destined to compete in."

So who are these mental athletes? Meet the contestants and the actors who play them.

STANLEY BAHOREK, 25

Q. Tell me about your character.
A. I play Leaf Coneybear. He's a home-schooled kid. He's very quirky. He wears a cape and makes his own clothing.

Q. Have you ever worn a cape?
A. I did. But it was sort of a pajama set. The Spider-Man, Superman pajama set that comes with the briefs, or maybe a onesie. And it has a cape. But I was 5 or 6, not 11 or 12. He also tends to lick people. That's not good when you go out in public.

Q. Do you have anything else in common with Leaf?
A. He's right at that age when you realize you were not self-aware before. You sort of look around and look at the other kids and realize, oh, I am very odd. This for me was definitely right around fifth grade. I was the kid wearing sweat pants every day to school and thinking that was very fashionable.

Q. What's the hardest word you know how to spell?
A. Capybara. It's an oversize South American rodent.

Q. That must come in handy.
A. Sure. It comes up in everyday conversation all the time.

JENNI BARBER, 23

Q. Tell me about your character.
A. Olive Ostrovsky is the wallflower of the group. She thinks she's the worst speller. She's really quiet, she's an only child.

Q. Can you relate to her?
A. When I was her age, 11, I was very shy. Olive has a whole song about how her best friend is the dictionary, it never fails her, it helps her when she needs to understand something. That was theater for me.

Q. What's the hardest word you know how to spell?
A. I'm terrible, I'm really bad. I can spell cat. Oh my God, I have no idea. I always think the spelling of Mississippi is fun. I like to spell it: M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I. That's probably the hardest.

GRETA LEE, 23

Q. Tell me about your character.
A. Marcy Park is an overachieving, perfectionist Catholic school girl. She's perfect at everything she does and she knows it. But there's also a different side to her, which you will see.

Q. What were you doing when you were her age?
A. When I was 11, I was attending a private school in South Pasadena. I had just moved from a different school, and I was the new girl. I definitely was that kid who ate lunch by myself and was very focused on my work because I didn't really have a choice. I thought I wanted to be a pop star and a veterinarian and a ballerina. I had big dreams.

Q. Are you a good speller?
A. I have my good days and my bad days. We've had audience volunteers misspell words like cow because they're just so nervous.

Q. What's the hardest word you know how to spell?
A. Qaimaqam. It's a rare exception to the "qu" rule. It's a lieutenant or deputy from the Ottoman empire. It's so wonderful that I know that now.

AARON J. ALBANO, 23

Q. Tell me about your character.
A. Chip Tolentino won the 24th annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He went to nationals and didn't do so well. He's back to try to win again. He's very go get 'em. He wants to be the best, he wants everyone to like him. He's one of those kids you kind of hate.

Q. What's your favorite moment in the show?
A. There's usually one or two crazy audience volunteers. One kid had apparently gone to nationals that year and had placed second. This child, bless his heart, he was awesome. He had his spelling bee T-shirt on. He had his Coke-bottle glasses. It was crazy. He was just the real deal. He was the animal we were all trying to emulate. He was up there correcting our vice principal on word pronunciations.

Q. What's the hardest word you know how to spell?
A. I have no idea. Especially with spell check, who needs it?

JARED GERTNER, 26

Q. Tell me a little bit about your character.
A. William Barfee is a 12-year-old boy who is very smart and has a few issues. He has a mucus membrane problem and can only breathe through one nostril. He's highly allergic to many foods, especially peanuts. He needs work in social graces.

Q. What were you doing when you were 12?
A. I was preparing for my bar mitzvah, waiting to get my braces off and for my face to clear.

Q. Did it?
A. It did, but not in time for my bar mitzvah pictures. My life is a Clearasil commercial. I had quite a bar mitzvah. The cantor stood behind me the entire time. As I'm saying prayers, he's whispering to me, "You know, if the acting thing doesn't work out, you could be a cantor."

Q. What's your favorite moment in the show?
A. There are two really great scenes I have with Jenni Barber, who plays Olive. It's such a special time in Barfee's life, learning to relate to a girl and people in general.

Q. What's the hardest word you know how to spell?
A. I can spell antidisestablishmentarianism. I learned that very young so I could show off with it.

SARA INBAR, AGE SECRET

Q. Tell me about your character.
A. Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre is the youngest of the spellers. She's 10. She's a political activist. She has two gay fathers. She's very focused on winning, very serious about the world, politics, wanting to make change.

Q. What were you doing when you were her age?
A. I wanted to be an astronaut. I went to space camp. I was really into space and I was really into comedy. I was in the kids' comedy club. We would write sketches making fun of adults.

Q. Do you have anything in common with her?
A. We definitely share a belief system. I don't think I could do it if we didn't. We're very liberal. We disapprove of the current administration. We're also sad about Pluto.

Q. What's the hardest word you know how to spell?
A. Antidisestablishmentarianism. I learned that word in second grade.

Q. That was Jared's word too.
A. Our birthdays are only a week apart. I wonder if that has anything to do with it.