Kicking off its 19th season, the Kitchen Theatre once again opened its doors to another season of great plays. “Secret Order,” the first show of the season, is a dramatic comedy of small proportions but offers big laughs. Before the show, the Kitchen’s artistic director, Rachel Lampert, welcomes the crowd to the theater and explains that the room is on the small side because the actors can then have a closer relationship to the play.

Some might think that a comedy in a small acting space, close to the audience, with only minor scenery changes might not be exciting. However, the audience has the ability to see the characters’ emotions while witnessing the action from every seat in the house. The simple scenery allows the play’s progression to be fast-paced. And even though there are some longer-than-necessary monologues, the audience always seemed enthralled by the play.

In the play, a doctor named William Shumway (Tony Roach), who is coming closer to finding a cure for cancer, enters the cutthroat world of medical research and being in the public’s scrutinizing eye. Roach plays Shumway wonderfully as a nervous scientist that hates speaking in public and doesn’t make eye contact. His emotions are always shown clear on his face, so the audience is always well aware of how he is feeling and, at times, what he is thinking. His character develops more confidence throughout the play and breaks free of his lack of eye contact when he talks about believing in God, even as a scientist. Many characters question how he can believe in both.

He is joined by Ithaca College theater professor Greg Bostwick, who plays Shumway’s boss, Dr. Robert Brock. He is obviously the most aggressive character, wonderfully portraying the quintessential persona everyone loves to hate, as he pushes Shumway to his limits. Along the way, he seems to become a father figure to Shumway.

The story has a minor love interest provided by a medical student named Alice Curiton (Kelly Galvin), who works with Shumway and becomes the friend that cares a little bit too much about him — when all he needed at first was a lab assistant. Alice is extremely passionate about science and often lets that enthusiasm get in the way of her career. The fourth character in the quartet of actors is Saul Roth (Roy Clary), who is an older colleague who refuses to be replaced by a young scientist with new ideas and will do anything to keep his job.

With a play that addresses so many moral issues — lying, trust, popularity, religion, money and backstabbing — some might think it’d be hard to push that aside and focus on the humor. However, the audience couldn’t stop laughing. Shumway’s awkwardness mixed with Brock’s bluntness led to many humorous scenes.

For some people, a play about science is not the definition of a fun night on The Commons. However, the story of “Secret Order” has a different plot and tackles issues not seen in most plays. At times the dialogue is laden with confusing scientific terminology, but it’s a comedy. No one is expected to be a rocket scientist to understand its sheer humor.

“Secret Order” runs through Sept. 20. Tickets can be purchased at the Kitchen Theatre.