Three years ago I saw the New York debut production of Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen in New York, an experience that changed the way I looked not only at science, but life as well. The play dissected a historic and mysterious meeting between two of the past century’s greatest physicists, Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr, masterfully revealing that human behavior and perception is not altogether different than the study of sub-atomic particles.

I was curious to see a student production of Copenhagen mostly because the characters lend themselves so well to being played by much older actors who can bring more to the table in terms of reflecting upon the events of their lives. Much of the strength of the production I saw in New York came from the age of the players. I mention this only because it was one of the major shortcomings of senior honors-candidate Asher Rapkin’s production of Copenhagen, but I do not by any stretch mean to imply that I am measuring this production against the professional Broadway production. In spite of a few flaws Copenhagen is well worth seeing as it not only incites thought but also reveals some fascinating philosophical implications of the past century’s major scientific breakthroughs in atomic physics.

Heisenberg, played by Tom Taylor (also an honors candidate), Bohr (sophomore Ben Sinclair), and Bohr’s wife, Margrethe (first-year Amy Oelsner), meet in the afterlife to discuss what exactly caused the historic falling out between Bohr and Heisenberg when the two met in Copenhagen in 1941. Bohr was a Danish Jew living in occupied Copenhagen and Heisenberg was the leading researcher of nuclear fission in Nazi Germany.

All three characters have axes to grind with each other and disagreements about what actually happened. However, they have had their whole lives to think over these events and now have all of eternity to resolve their misunderstandings. This was not as apparent as it could have been in Rapkin’s production. Rather than chalk it up to a poor performance on the part of the players, it seems to be simply because it is incredibly difficult for someone who’s 20 to truly attain the perspective of one who, in addition to living to 75, has had eternity to think over his lifetime. This would be a difficult task for any actor, but one which would be easier for someone who is much older and has lost the impatience of youth. Oelsner best conveyed the patience and deliberateness that would come with having eternity to think one’s life over, but along with Sinclair and Taylor was guilty of speaking a bit too fast.

Following in this vein, the use of chalkboards as props weakened the power of Frayn’s dialogues between the Bohr’s and Heisenberg. Aesthetically they framed the space very well, but using them to illustrate, literally, the points Bohr and Heisenberg were trying to make about sub-atomic particles was a bit excessive, as the prose itself is strong enough to carry the tension, though it is a more formidable task. Additionally, relaxing a bit would go a long way for this production, as the players sometimes lacked faith in the power of the dialogue to convey the emotions and over-acted a bit at points. Sinclair crossed this mark the most, often seeming like he was just going through his lines. He also didn’t make the best choices in his portrayal of Bohr, who, though paternalistic, is supposed to be the more patient and methodical of the pair. He came across as being more irritated and aggressive than the restless and arrogant Heisenberg who shot first and asked questions later. For Copenhagen, taking dramatic license in the characters’ portrayals is not as excusable as in other plays, as the foundation of much of the drama is that these two men are their discoveries.

But, there were many points, especially after intermission, when this ensemble showed great potential in their ability to perform Copenhagen. Oelsner, whose character Margrethe spends most of the first half silently observing her husband and Heisenberg, came to life in the second half as an incredibly strong presence on stage.

Copenhagen is intelligent and engaging, and Rapkin and his cast have made a strong attempt at performing this difficult work. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the production, and though there were some flaws, it is apparent that these are talented players and that little, from the precision of the blocking to the subtlety of the sound design, was left to chance.

Little Theater. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6 and 7 at 2 p.m.