After a weeklong delay due to actor illness, Villanova University Theatre opened its 2006-2007 season with a bang with Eugene Ionesco’s “The Chairs.” The audience is immediately thrown into an unknown future with only two lonely, eccentric characters occupying the space-age stage.

This scene may sound uninteresting, but superb acting and direction transform mundane dialogue into hilarity.

The story itself is existentialistic and sometimes hard to follow, but the interpretation and stage direction by director Joanna Rotte and entrancing stage presence of actors Stephen Patrick Smith and Marcie Bramucci make the experience entertaining, even if the audience does not always comprehend its deeper meanings.

Written after the devastation of Europe from the world wars, “The Chairs” is classified within the Theatre of the Absurd movement, and that description says it all. The play is absurd and often times deeply confusing, but always entertaining and thought-provoking.

Villanovans should support the University’s theatre program by going to see the interesting plays presented in Vasey Theatre. Opening night did not even fill the tiny room in Vasey, and it is a shame for the artistic talent right under our noses to go unnoticed.

The next production of the University’s theatre program will be William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” premiering Tuesday, Nov. 7 and running through Sunday, Nov. 19.

Box Office is located in the lobby of Vasey Hall on campus. Box Office hours are Monday-Saturday, 12pm-5pm. The Box Office phone number is 610-519-7474.