Have you seen ‘The Woman in Black’?

October 23, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown Playhouse production of “The Woman in Black” uses the same basic story as the 2012 film of the same name.

But instead of using millions of dollars’ worth of cinematic special effects, the Playhouse version gets into the viewer’s head the old-fashioned way: with two actors and a bare stage.

This back-to-basics construct is actually the premise of the stage version.

There also are some other plot departures from the film, but the core fact remains intact: When the woman in black lets someone see her, woe to that person.

“Woman” is set in 19th- century England. An emotionally crushed lawyer named Kipps (played by David El’Hatton) has hired an actor (James Hain) so that he can tell everyone what happened to him. It’s meant to be a catharsis for Kipps, who lost his child and his wife to the vengeful spirit.

And that’s where the play begins: the two men are alone in a theater surrounded by “empty” seats.” The Playhouse auditorium itself becomes the set.

From here, dialog and imagination — helped by sound and lighting — must do the rest, and director Candace DiLullo’s cast and technical crew fully achieve this spinetingler’s potential.

The play-within-a-play conceit might seem odd at first, even unnecessary. But its purpose does become clear in due time.

The Actor and Kipps rehearse their play in the eerie theater. The Actor plays Kipps while Kipps plays every person he meets as he travels to a desolate mansion to close the affairs of the late recluse who lived there.

The complexity of the premise, and the dependence on a small cast, calls for strong acting talent in order to avoid confusion. Fortunately, stage veteran El’Hatton excels in just such a piece. He plays at least six characters, giving each a different British accent as the action moves from London to a rustic town in the north.

Hain, a professor at Youngstown State University, is new to the Playhouse but a seasoned actor. As the equally strong co-pillar of the cast, he propels Kipps’ story, while intermittently switching back to his role as Kipps’ demanding drama instructor.

The period charm of “Woman in Black” gets a huge boost from sound designer Johnny Pecano, who transports the audience from a stuffy office in bustling London to a horse drawn cart clip-clopping down a lonely, foggy lane. The sound effect usage mimics a radio play in the way it enlists the audience’s imagination.

Lighting (designed by Ellen Licitra) and fog are also used to great effect here, particularly when the grim and ghostly woman in black — silently played by Victoria Lubonovich — appears. In one exemplary scene, a terrified Kipps races through a mist-enshrouded marsh, trying to escape the apparition.

It’s one of several moments that genuinely raises a chill.