“It is Spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bibleblack…” advertises the brochure. However, after its opening weekend, reviews are far from “starless” for “Under Milk Wood,” Oakland University’s newest stage production.

“It’s different from other plays I’ve been in that it’s about a day in the life in a Welsh town rather than something with a large-scale plot,” said cast member Anna Marck. “It takes you through a lot of little stories, but it’s still very interesting.”

Marck, a musical theatre major, plays Second Voice, a narrator of sorts in the journey through the small, fictional fishing village of Llareggub, where “Under Milk Wood” takes place.

Directed by theatre professor Karen Sheridan and originally written as a radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, the play is primarily narrated through the principal parts of Captain Cat, played by Mitchell Aiello, and First Voice and Second Voice (Brian Baylor and Marck), but also features multiple roles for the other members of the ensemble.

“There were over forty roles to play but only seventeen of us in the cast, so besides the Voices and Captain Cat, everyone got to play multiple parts,” said Marck. “It kind of adds to the fun for the audience to try and pick out the same actors in different parts.”

In addition to being performed on stage, “Under Milk Wood” is also simultaneously interpreted by Synergy on Stage in American Sign Language, “a cool extra element” to the play, according to Marck.

In a recent review of the production on examiner.com, Detroit Theatre critic Patty Nolan applauded the use of sign language, writing that “ironically, in a play that is so much about the spoken word, this adds striking visual dimension – a delicate parallel to the audio proves equally stirring and fully-integrated.”

Staged in Varner’s Studio Theatre, the audience sits almost level with the performers. “The small studio setting definitely adds to the energy of the production. It makes the audience a lot more accessible to us [as performers] and it’s always cool to look out and see people’s faces in the crowd.”

“I think there’s something different in ‘Under Milk Wood’ for everybody,” added Marck. “It’s in a very poetic type of language so it might be kind of difficult for the younger kids to understand, but I think they could still appreciate the visual elements.”

“Under Milk Wood” plays five more shows on February 13, 14, 15, and 16. Tickets are $14 for the general public and $8 for students, children, and matinee shows, and can be purchased at the door, online, or over the phone. For more information on pricing or tickets, visit oakland.edu/tickets or call 248.370.2030.