What affords us the ability to create? What can we learn from our artistic idols? [title of show], a one-act musical with a book by Hunter Bell and lyrics by Jeff Bowen, demonstrates that the creative process isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It’s a realistic, self-aware, and hilarious look at what happens when four friends with a dream set out to write an original musical. The finished product is, of course, the very show that audience members have come to see, which frequently pokes fun at this meta narrative.

The show also features “Nine People’s Favorite Thing,” an anthem for the creative underdogs, asserting that they’d rather be “nine people’s favorite thing than a hundred people’s ninth favorite thing.” Oberlin students’ tendency toward intense and niche interests make this a relatable sentiment. 

College first-year Katie Friedemann, who plays Heidi and serves as the production’s co-director, says they chose the show “because it has all this heart — it’s just a bunch of theater geeks geeking out, and that’s what we are!”

In the song “Die, Vampire, Die!,” the show calls attention to insecurity in art and encourages the audience to “pull your novel out of that sock drawer!” It serves as a refreshing reminder that the desire to create stems from a love of art, which should be celebrated.

Junior Vocal Performance major Matteo Adams and College first-year Jonah Verdon — who play Jeff and Hunter, respectfully — highlighted how close-knit this small cast and crew became while working on the production over Winter Term. 

“It’s just us out here, and it’s really fun, and it’s so much work, and I love every second of it,” Verdon said. 

For College first-years Emmy Soll, who serves as the show’s Music Director, and Meg Steen, who plays Susan, this show is their first theater experience at Oberlin. 

“I did this show because I hadn’t done theater in a while, and I thought ‘Hey, why not?’ I’d known this show beforehand and I like it,” Steen said. “It’s been a really cool experience just getting really really close with seven people. We’ve just been really tight.”

[title of show] runs February 21–23 at 8 p.m. in Wilder Main. Tickets are $5, and can be purchased in Terrell library and at the door.