There is nothing subtle about the comedy in "Bach at Leipzig." Call it convention or form. Call it the circular motion of the play. Whatever causes it makes it increasingly more humorous as the play progresses.

Setting: The Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Germany in 1722.

The head organist of the Thomaskirche dies with no one in line to replace him. However, several of the best organists in Germany are summoned to audition to be his replacement.

Meet the seven voices of the play: three Johanns and four Georgs, apparently the two most popular names for organists in 18th century Germany. All have come to Leipzig thinking they are the most qualified and the best organist in all of Germany, and as a result, they begin to bribe, betray and blackmail each other so as to strike an agreement in case they are not victorious.

The play is filled with conventions. For example, in the second act, the play becomes a play within a play, a common convention used to drive home the themes and motifs of the play, which include religion, perseverance and music.

My favorite convention of the play is first shown at the opening of the play, and it is used throughout the play to introduce new characters and propel the play. It always begins "Dear…" Each of the characters writes letters home to his beloved. What is nice about this convention is that it allows the audience a peek into each character’s mind; thoughts and feelings explain what is happening, rather than a single narrator with a one-sided vantage point. In the scene that best highlights this, each character begins to write a letter home and they recite them all on-stage, all at once in a round creating a musical piece of their own. (As a note, all letters are sent via messenger pigeons, and if you look closely at the center of the stage, the white tiles mutate from squares to bird forms.)

The playwright is Itamar Moses, a young playwright who frequently oversees the production of his plays at The Rep. His wit in "Bach at Leipzig" is astounding, subtle and very humorous. He transformed the character of Johann Sebastian Bach – a very well known cantor from the time – into the most minor of characters, never appearing on stage. In fact, the play is loosely based on a true story with Bach being the only person remembered in history. And the audience is left wondering how history would have been changed, who we would remember, if Bach hadn’t been victorious in the competition.