BILLERICA -- Maggie King is unable to speak. The student at Merrimack Special Education Collaborative has cerebral palsy, and she wanted more than anything to be in the school's rendition of "Beauty and the Beast" on Wednesday.

Her disability didn't stop her, however, as she was scheduled to kick off the play at Locke Middle School Wednesday night.

During the dress rehearsal Wednesday, King was the play's narrator, using her speech-generating computer system to say the lines.

"She's had a hard time focusing because she's been so excited for this. She's thrilled," said Joe Venskus, the play's producer and assistant director.

Wednesday night's performance will mark the fifth year in a row that MSEC has brought a story with song to the stage. The actors, actresses and stagehands all live with specific disabilities. Tim Callahan, program director at MSEC, said the show is the event of the season.

"There's always this buzz of excitement around this time of year," Callahan said. "It's really the proudest part of the year for them. Until the play project, they didn't know how much talent they have."

Fifteen students comprise the "Beauty and the Beast" cast, and there were several students who built the set and designed the costumes. They created a Broadway-style Playbill, and all proceeds from the show will be donated to One Fund Boston.

Since February, they have practiced at least two afternoons a week, about five hours weekly. Then Wednesday, all the hard work finally paid off.

"I'm pumped," said Michael Koczan hours before the show. He played Le Fou, Gaston's loyal sidekick.

"It takes a lot of courage to do it," said Mindy Malas, who played a villager, old woman and a triplet infatuated with Gaston. "We're ready. The show must go on."

It was Samantha Wojtowicz' final year acting at MSEC, which brought a flurry of emotions.

"It's sad because it's my last, but I'm excited to go out there," said Wojtowicz, who played Belle. "I'm excited to come back and visit."

The play helps raise the students' self-esteem and makes them comfortable in front of people, despite their appearance or how they sound, according to Venskus.

Nervousness is always an issue with students, but Venskus told them to recalculate like a GPS.

"If you forget a line or forgot where to stand, take a minute and take a deep breath and recalculate," he said. "Let's take a deep breath and have fun."

His favorite part of the show is when the full house crowd gives them a standing ovation.

"That may have never happened before for them, so seeing that interaction alone is what does it for me," Venskus said. "Parents out in the audience are crying."

MSEC, at 40 Linnell Circle in Billerica, has 80 students, ages 14-22. They learn meaningful life-skills in budgeting, cooking and social etiquette, Callahan said.

"We're helping them become independent, so they can become as productive members of society as possible," the program director said. "They learn skills we take for granted like tipping at a restaurant or how to act in public."

The students come from all over Greater Lowell, as far south as Boston and as far north as New Hampshire, Callahan said. They participate in paid internships at retail stores, restaurants and mailrooms to figure out what they want to do in life.

MSEC also has a 60-person adult program.

Follow Rick Sobey on Twitter @rsobeyLSun.