It is certainly a pleasure to watch true talent at work on the stage. And I certainly had that opportunity on December 3rd when I journeyed to Urbana, Illinois' fabled Station Theatre to audit John Kolvenbach's quirky romantic comedy, Love Song. This puzzling play was brought to delightful life by a cast headlined by two of the finest assets to the stage that it has been my pleasure to watch in any theatre on three continents, Joi Hoffsommer and Gary Ambler. I swear Hoffsommer and Ambler could read the phone book and keep the audience enthralled.

But this is not to suggest that all this production has to offer is the talents of these two actors. The younger pair of Mathew Green and Katie Baldwin are also extremely talented performers and are captivating in this production. Then there is the fantastic set by designers Jadon Peck and Michael Markstahler.

Add to this mix Kay Bohannon Holley, a director who definitely knows just when to step in and just when to step back, and you have an evening at the theatre which will definitely let you leave smiling -- and thinking.

And then there is the script, itself. First produced by Chicago's famous Steppenwolf company, Love Song goes for what the playwright calls the audience's “squashy middle,” claiming “even the most ferociously unsentimental minimalist possesses a cupboard somewhere full of old yearbooks and billets-doux.” He has stated that he wants his play to be “melodic, firmly structured, evocative, irresistible,” much like the popular love songs that introduce and conclude the actions on stage. During this action, we meet Joan (Hoffsommer) and Harry (Ambler) who go from a snipping later-day George and Martha (albeit a whole lot funnier) to a kinder, gentler couple who eventually steal a delightful “hooky day” and make out on the couch. And we also meet Joan's brother, Beane (Green), a strange loner, seemingly detached from reality, bordering on mental illness. Beane and his sister seem polar opposites except for their love for each other. While Joan is an up-tight businesswoman, who, when we first meet her, seems bordering on an eminent nervous breakdown, Beane lives a monkish life in a virtually unfurnished, dimly lit apartment and works “for the city.”

After returning home from a visit to Joan and Harry's lavish apartment (during which we witness a side-splitting but confusing attempt by Harry to administer a popular-press personality test to Beane), Beane encounters a poetic female cat burglar, Molly (Baldwin) in his apartment and falls madly in love with her.

What follows is the body of the play in which we learn that while love may not conquer all, it sure as hell helps. Beane becomes fascinated with life and all its aspects -- sights, sounds, tastes and smells. There is another delightful scene between Beane and Joan in a restaurant during which Beane becomes fascinated by Joan's scent and enchanted by the taste of the Turkey Club sandwich. And somehow, his new found lust for life is transmitted to Joan and Harry who put George and Martha to bed and begin to experience sights, sounds, tastes and smells all of their own -- including a totally captivating scene where Harry recalls that on their first meeting, Joan smells of cantaloupe and after that meeting, Harry cannot walk past a fruit stand without experiencing an erection.

And after his meeting with Molly, Beane's dialogue suffers a sea change. He no longer seems nearly sub verbal, but becomes (as does Molly) poetic, with his dialogue becoming something akin to the lyrics of a love song; for example, “There are four questions of value in life…What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same…”

And there is a dramatic reversal in the latter part of the play which is the cause of the audience leaving the theatre not just smiling, but thinking. It is not my job as a critic to reveal it, and to do so would certainly rob the reader of much of the play. To find out what it is, go to the Station Theatre at 223 North Broadway Street in Urbana, Illinois and see for yourself. Love Song will play through December 19th with 8:00 p.m. curtains. The theatre is dark on Mondays and Tuesdays. For reservations, call (217) 384-4000 (cash or checks only). But don't be tardy. Opening night was a turn-away crowd. So far, all four of the Celebration Company at the Station Theatre's productions this season have been close to sell-outs, so a reservation is definitely recommended.

Please don't miss this one. Go see it with someone you love.