Sean Smith might be a small man, but he had big power Friday night as “Of Mice and Men” opened in the Hugo Young Theater.

Smith portrayed George, a farmhand who travels from farm to farm working for others while wishing he could work for himself. Smith gracefully and beautifully walked the line of anger and desperation a man possesses when he has nothing of his own while still remaining a complex character.

He made playing George look easy, although I’m sure it was not so at all. There were many scenes where George could have been overdone, with the actor screaming too much or always just seeming angry, leaving the audience under the impression that George was just a mean man with no heart or, even worse, that the actor was just taking things too far. However, Smith expertly showed how much George truly cared about others while not losing tension in his shoulders or the rough edges of his tone.

Nathaniel Sayatovich played opposite Smith and shone brightly as Lennie, George’s charge and friend.

Lennie is mentally challenged and, ever since his aunt died, George has watched out for him. The two travel together everywhere, and George is often mad because Lennie is always doing unacceptable things, causing both of them to get fired and forcing them to find another farm to work on.

Sayatovich had spot-on delivery and managed to make the audience laugh without breaking the rather serious mood of the play. Sayatovich captured the true innocence of Lennie and created most of the emotional tug-and-pull of the play, including the sniffles at the end.

At one point during the play, Lennie gets into a physical fight with another man. Props go to Director Ric Goodwin for making this scene run smoothly and realistically.

Jake Kinney played Candy, an elderly farmhand who owns a smelly old dog.

Kinney not only played his part well, but handled the dog very well also. While the dog looked terrified the entire time on stage, Kinney seemed to have the ability to make the animal relax a little. It added perfectly to the bond the animal and man were supposed to have in the play.

The set was simple and smart, with a slanting floor so that it was easy for the audience to see everything. Many times, the characters laid on the floor, a brilliant way to allow the audience to still hear and see without making the characters stay in normal blocks.

Costumes were also simple and smart, creating a very authentic look and feel that only fueled the power the actors gave to this play.

If I had anything negative to say, it would only be this: the transition between scenes became a bit comical and it shouldn’t have.

In the beginning, I thought that the musical transition was really nice. I liked that touch a lot.

However, as the play went on, it became more and more funny that a man with a guitar appeared with a huge hat on, played a few bars and then faded away. I have no suggestion for how to make this less amusing, because as I said, I loved it in the beginning. But by the end, I was chuckling with others in my row and I wish I wouldn’t have been.

“Of Mice and Men” opened on Friday and I couldn’t think of a better way to have spent my time that night.

These actors are truly talented in their art and their crew is obviously good at what they do. I would highly recommend going and seeing “Of Mice and Men,” which is playing this Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.