Far from it. The electrifying production at Playhouse in the Park holds high its chilling issues: fanaticism never goes out of style, it just changes its mask; the power of a mob mentality can carve unimagined scars in a society; and how often is an impossible price set on honor?

The Crucible, is, of course, the Arthur Miller classic that's been taught in U.S. schools for 50 years - so long that we think it can hold no surprises, that it's long and dreary. And so it can be on the page and in homework assignments.

On the stage, as directed by Steven Woolf, it is a revelation.

Miller wrote the play in response to a 1950s "witch hunt" which lives in infamy half a century later; he set it during an actual witch hunt, in Salem, 1692, which, more than 300 hundred years later, hasn't been forgotten. We are always living history, sometimes more significantly than we know.

In Puritan Salem, a covey, but not a coven, of hormonal girls have been caught dancing at night in the woods. In no time they are pointing fingers to avoid punishment and suddenly a handful of powerful and self-righteous leaders are caught up in a frenzy of murder in the guise of the law.

One of the girls, Abigail (Stephanie Cozart) has broken a few commandments - she has had an affair with studly farmer John Proctor (Christopher Burns) and covets him. Shrewd and spiteful, she sees a way to eliminate his wife and leaps at it.

This will stand as one of the great productions of the 2004-05 theater season.

The 20-member cast is simply stellar, down to the smallest roles. They are that rare, seamless ensemble, both highly charged and heartbreakingly human.

The play is starkly and strikingly set within a barn-like, slatted wooden frame that acts as attic room, the Proctors' home and a hearing room. The pressing, ominous presence is beautifully conceived by set designer Narelle Sissons and lighting designer Mary Jo Dondlinger.

The Crucible builds into a great courtroom drama, the kind that only works when the audience is completely invested in the characters.

Burns is towering as Proctor, who enters the scene looking like the cover boy in a paperback bodice-ripper, right down to his flowing locks and manly chest hair. He's flawed enough to resent his wife for making him feel guilty about his adultery.

Elizabeth Proctor (Bernadette Quigley) is flawed, too. Her sense of what's right can carry her into coldness and Quigley telegraphs the ocean of emotions that churn in her unyielding nature.

The Rev. John Hale (Tim Altmeyer) is fascinating, too, handsome and ambitious, initially an avid witch-hunter, then horrified when the community runs mad and he's unable to stop that madness. Altmeyer is terrific.

Miller wrote this play big and Woolf directs big - the truth of the performances and the splendidly orchestrated staging come together in the kind of production that a classic deserves. The "possession" scene late in the second act is a dazzler, but no more than the unforgettable finale.

The Crucible is a superb example of why Playhouse is the recipient of the 2004 Regional Theatre Tony Award. Cincinnati audiences give a lot of standing ovations; The Crucible actually deserves one.

The Crucible, through Nov. 19, Playhouse in the Park, 421-3888.

E-mail jdemaline@enquirer.com