Almost 150 years ago, John Ruskin was the premier art critic of his time, so much so that he changed the course of modern art. John Millais was an up-and-coming painter and his protege.

        One eventful summer they vacationed together with Ruskin's young wife, Effie. What happened had the makings of a psychological thriller worthy of Gaslight, except the events were real. So was the scandal that followed.

        Victorian era repressed sexuality, greatness unmasked and suspicions of madness are all part of the fun of The Countess. It gets its regional premiere at Ensemble Theatre, opening tonight even as it continues to play off-Broadway.

        “I'm amazed somebody hasn't done this before,” muses director Michael Haney, a familiar hand at ETC, where he directed Private Eyes last season,and Playhouse in the Park, where he returns every year for A Christmas Carol. This season he'll add The Mystery of Irma Vep to his many Playhouse credits.

        “It screams Masterpiece Theatre, or Merchant-Ivory,” Mr. Haney says. Today the events of The Countess would more likely scream Jerry Springer, but in the Victorian era, people kept their private lives private.

        Mr. Haney is approaching the play as “a thriller of character. What I hope happens with the audience is that they sense something isn't right, but they're not sure with whom — or why.”

        Directing The Countess gives Mr. Haney the opportunity to indulge in one of his favorite aspects of directing — delving. In this case research has included Pre-Raphaelite art and the music of Mendelssohn and Bellini. The best part, notes Mr. Haney, “is that I'm working with a bunch of smart people who are also delving.”

        Playing the three parts of the romantic triangle are Greg Proccacino as Ruskin, Ean Sheehy (fresh from Glimmer, Glimmer and Shine) as Millais and Carrie Ragsdale as Effie.

        The Countess, through Nov. 5, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, $25, students and seniors $20. 421-3555.

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