Roberto Guajardo plays a man of character in Beowulf Alley Theatre Company's "The Woman in Black."
Make that a man of many characters.
Guajardo takes on and pulls off the brunt of the roles in Beowulf's latest production — written by Susan Hill and adapted to the stage by Stephen Mallatratt — a gothic tale set in a play within a play about a haunted estate in rural England.
Arthur Kipps (Guajardo) is a big-city lawyer who has hired an actor (David Alexander Johnston) to help him tell the story of his run-ins with the "woman in black," a ghostlike figure who brings bad luck and wreaks havoc on all who see her.
The actor obliges and pulls together a two-man play, in which Johnston actually plays Kipps and the real Kipps plays everyone else.
The play within a play follows Kipps, who travels to a small English town to attend the funeral of Alice Drablow, a client with skeletons in the closet and ghosts in the attic. It is there where Kipps first discovers the mysterious woman in black.
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It is also where Guajardo shines. Despite a few line stumbles at Saturday night's opening, he managed to bring to life an entire town of people, from Mr. Jerome, the firm's nervous, apprehensive local agent, to Keckwick, the strong and silent carriage driver.
Johnston was no slouch either. While Guajardo ran through an entire village of distinguishable characters, Johnston acted his two main roles with enthusiasm, never forgetting which character he was interacting with. The two kept a strong rapport whether the scene called for levity or heart-stopping horror.
"Forgive me, I am not an actor," exclaims Guajardo toward the beginning of the play.
"No," Johnston responds in agreement with enough conviction to send laughter rippling through the audience.
While "The Woman in Black" finds strength in its actors, it falls short with a dragging story line.
Rather than cut straight to the macabre tale, the production begins with an extended dialogue between Guajardo and Johnston about telling the story that gets the fear factor off to a slow start.
The elements are integral to certain surprise twists, but the time it takes to wade through them makes it almost not worth the effort.
Add to that the fact that the production is rather tame compared to the level of horror found in today's cinema, and it is frightening to imagine how the production managed to receive such rave reviews in London for the last 17-plus years under the guise that it will scare your socks off.
If you are more into Edgar Allan Poe and less of a "Saw II" fan, the play has enough suspense and quality acting to keep your adrenaline pumping.
If you are looking for a story that will inspire nightmares for the next few weeks, don't hold your breath. You might just pass out waiting for the scares to begin.
Beowulf Alley Theatre Company's "The Woman in Black," which runs through Feb. 4. 882-0555.
