By Joseph McDonough
Enquirer contributor

The hobbits are back at the Aronoff Center. Ovation Theatre Company opened its season Thursday with a preview performance of The Two Towers, the second installment of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Though not completely satisfying, Two Towers towers over last season's Fellowship of the Ring. Playwright Blake Bowden and director Gina Cerimele-Mechley keep the action clear and focused - no small feat since Towers employs 25 actors, dozens of characters and two simultaneous storylines that unfortunately don't converge until the third part of the trilogy.

One story involves hero hobbits Frodo Baggins (Joe Sofranko) and Sam Gamgee (Mr. Bowden), who are still traveling through mysterious lands to destroy the magic ring with potentially evil powers.

The other story centers on human Aragorn (Dave Early) as he searches for kidnapped hobbit friends Merry (Timothy Rhoads) and Pippin (Judy Shaw).

Mr. Bowden and Ms. Cerimele-Mechley understand that the characters - even hobbits, elves and orcs - need human qualities to come alive on stage. The pace is less breakneck this year, allowing the mostly able cast to inject well-needed moments of humor and personality into the battles?

Standing out are Elizabeth A. Harris as Gimli the dwarf and Aretta Baumgartner as the wickedly impish creature Gollum.

The real stars of Towers are behind-the-scenes wizards. Carus Waggoner (assisted by Rich Couch and Ms. Baumgartner) has designed some terrifically theatrical puppets, particularly a giant killer spider and a walking/talking tree.

The show's many battle scenes (these hobbits settle every dispute with a sword fight) are effectively choreographed by Adam McLean and Ms. Cerimele-Mechley.

Steve Goers provides some original musical composition and a near-continuous sound design that cinematically establishes moods and helps keep the scenes flowing.

What's still missing, though, is an emotional resonance with these inhobbitants of Middle-earth. What is supposed to pull the uninitiated into these episodic tales of other-worldly heroism?

The magic of Lord of the Rings eludes me. While Ovation's production does many things right, it doesn't illuminate the legendary charisma that Tolkien's followers would say I underappreciate.

Towers may not win new converts, but it will provide Tolkien fans with some of the pleasures they expect to find in Middle-earth.

The Two Towers, through Saturday, Aronoff Center, 241-7469.