OCIRCUS’ Nocturne finally went up this weekend, and certainly lived up to the Oberlin’s circus tradition as it had been laid down thus far.

As usual, some silly kid gets sent to some magic land, and gets to have a great time avoiding the trauma of real life. Still, she seems to grow a lot in this show — the girl, played by Sophomore Genna Apfel, ends up wearing stilts and what kind of looks like a sexy cocktail dress. Did I mention she’s supposed to be six when this starts?

Silliness aside, Nocturne delivered wonderful sights and marvels for the audience. First and foremost, the integrated pit orchestra and cast worked splendidly, as did the choice of venue. The Finney Chapel organ was delightfully refreshing, and the room offered comfortable accomodations for the show’s large audience.

This pit and cast continued to find interesting, dare I say clever, retoolings of what might be considered usual circus fare. Now that the show is over, I can divulge the glorious surprise of hearing the band playing, and hearing the bass but not seeing it, only to behold composer/perfomer/electric Senior bassist Eric Michaels almost leap out from backstage on stilts, still playing.

Similarly thrilling were the “juggling gates,” where characters would walk unscathed through storms of juggling pins. Others included a very fun tango between the two tall people (Apfel and Michaels) as well as the almost entire cast doing gymnastic positions in one sequence.

Oberlin’s circus tradition is unique in its involvement with the community at large, inspiring people with varying levels of experience to practice skills and find the fun in performing. The music is as homemade as can be, by current Oberlin students and alumni, including conductor Thomas Carroll, as is the choreography, plotting, and fundraising. Rumor has it the next show has a closet monster in it, which should be fun — after all, it is a circus.