Let’s be honest. There’s something to be said about cracking open the pages of a thoroughly entertaining book that’s also a fast read. For some, that could be Edith Wharton’s “Age of Innocence.” For others, it could be Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code.”

The same holds true for theater.

If you consider yourself part of the literati or if you just enjoy a good beach read, “The Book Club Play” at Village Theatre is a must-see.

The play centers around six friends who gather at the home of Ana, a newspaper columnist who is fastidious beyond fault, and her husband Rob. These friends are united through their love of books, hashing out the highs and lows of their latest group read. Or, in the case of Rob, books he was supposed to read, but didn’t.

Even before Oprah unleashed her book club on the world, this group of friends were at the forefront of the book club movement. Or so says Ana.

What makes this group different is they’ve been chosen by a famous Denmark director to be part of a cinéma vérité-style doc about the American phenomenon of book clubs.

Ana, of course, is thrilled to put her erudite tastes on display. But the others need a little more convincing. Especially after they hear that every move they make and every syllable they utter is being captured by a motion activated camera.   

Eventually everyone warms up to the idea. Or at least they start to forget about the little red light that indicates the camera’s continuous roll.

And that is where the fun begins.

It all starts off innocently enough. The initial topic of conversation dances around sexuality and other innuendos when discussing Herman Melville’s, “Moby Dick.” But as the group continues to meet every two weeks, guards are let down and awkward moments pile up fast. Like a good novel, there are surprises at every turn.

Spirited with plenty of laughs, “The Book Club Play” sets a brisk pace that only gains momentum up until the final scene. And, just like a good book, the strength and triumph in this play is that the characters are worth knowing.

Ana (Marquicia Dominguez) implores everyone to be their better selves (and not to look at the ever-present camera), while her husband Rob (Nik Doner) shuns the assigned ‘highbrow’ books. That is until he reads “Age of Innocence” which sets him off on an unexpected search for meaning. Will (Richard Nguyen Sloniker), Rob’s college roommate and Ana’s former boyfriend, has his own personal, life-changing discovery to make.

Meanwhile, Ana’s 20-something protégé at the paper, Lily (Maya Burton), tends to nervously blurt out comments at inappropriate times, even if they do end up being prescient. And Jen (Lauren Paris), another one of Ana’s friend, can be a bit unpredictable.

It is Jen who invites Alex (Arlando Smith), a professor of comparative literature, to be the newest member of the club without being properly ‘vetted’ by the group. All because she saw him in their apartment laundry room reading the same book she was – Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” of all things.

When we laugh (which is often), it doesn’t come at the expense of another person. Rather, it’s in response to the empathy they have for one another – even when they don’t recognized it within themselves. As idiosyncratic as their personalities may be, you find yourself pulling for this ad-hoc group of friends to stay together even in the thorniest, and often the funniest, of moments.

The Book Club Play

Directed by Arlene Martínez-Vázquez and Jéhan Òsanyìn, “The Book Club Play” runs through April 3 at Village Theatre in Issaquah. Performances at the Village Theatre in Everett run April 8 – May 1. Tickets can be purchases at: Villagetheatre.org.