Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes is awfully hard to stage. The novel relies much more on introspection and narrative than dialogue and action, and is thus in many ways the antithesis of a medium that eliminates the internal monologue.

Bradbury's adaptation, and the Lakewood Playhouse production, rely much more on recreating the dark tone and vivid imagery of the novel than its thematic depth.

As such, Something Wicked must be very technically ambitious, and in this director David Domkoski and his design crew succeed quite thoroughly.

A remarkable amount is achieved with a fairly static set. Multiple panels of scrim, which is opaque lit from the front and transparent lit from the back, provide a set of surreal portals, standing in for a populated ice block, a sewer hideaway and a madness-ridden hall of mirrors.

Scattered between are a myriad of entrances and exits from which flows the masked and twisted parade of carnival horrors, costumed beautifully by Sarah Gibson. Particularly notable are the skeletal horses that make up the mysterious and magical carousel, the centerpiece of Cooger & Dark's Combined Shadow Show. Tying the sets and costumes together are Kris Zetterstrom's lights - as swirling and stormy as the staging.

The cornerstone of the acting performances is Damian Gennette as Mr. Dark, the carnival's master of ceremonies and illustrated man. Gennette's Dark is creepy to the core. He is flamboyant but not appealing; constantly grinning but never smiling, a face of rictus rather than joy.

The heroes of the story are unfortunately victims of their medium. The script does its best to slip what exposition it can into the dialogue without being too clumsy, but it falls short of Bradbury's original dense prose. Without the thoroughly defined motivations to shape their characters, Jim Nightshade, Will Halloway and Will's father drive the story but struggle to engage the viewer. The balance between the old, grasping for a fleeting moment of youth, and the young, scrambling desperately toward maturity and responsibility, is present in concept but lacking in spirit.

Fortunately this rendition has it where it needs it: a healthy dose of not just something but many things wicked. That's enough to keep many an audience entertained and kick off the new season at Lakewood Playhouse.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Through Oct. 23, Friday-Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m., $17-$23
Lakewood Playhouse, 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd., Lakewood
253.588.0042