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A story about the need to tell stories.

Monday Mar 12, 2007.     By Michael Foreman

Theater Feed

One dark and stormy night (stay with me), four lonely chums meet in a rural Irish pub, huddled over pints and whiskeys against the gale outside. When a doe-eyed Dublin transplant arrives, they break out some dusty ghost stories to impress her but find themselves surprised by where their innocuous yarns and one-upmanship ultimately leads them.

Conor McPherson's Olivier Award-winning "The Weir" is a story the need to tell stories, to amuse ourselves, to inform, to needle the other guy, to get lucky, to soothe our fears and worries or just to scare the holy bejesus out of one another. In short, it's about the need to connect. The irascible but charming Jack (Ted Hoerl) leads the way with an unsettling tale of a faerie road, followed by blowhard nemesis Finbar (John Zinn) and pal Jim (Vincent P. Mahler). But it's quiet newcomer Valerie (the captivating Melanie Keller) whose chilling tale of loss provides both the haunting climax and final revelation.

Chopin's tight basement space seems tailor-made for this Signal Ensemble production. Like Cub Scouts around a campfire, the audience scooches in closer as each spooky bit unfolds. Sitting steps away from Melania Lancy's convincing set gave me the irrational urge to sidle up and order a "a small one," and the spare use of sound (murmuring water and phantom knocks) subtly heightened tension without yanking us backward out of the pub.

It's the Signal troupe, though, that deserves attention and not the atmospheric sleight of hand. The players emote with such a casual competence that you almost forget they're acting (so long as you overlook the occasional sagging brogue). Keller draws the audience into her palpable desperation after skillfully blending in with the bar for most of the night. Hoerl's affectionate portrayal of Jack has an edge-worn, lived-in feel that rightly owns the show, but Mahler is the hidden anchor here. As Jim, his natural turn gives us an understated counterpoint to Hoerl's banter and Zinn's unrelenting bluster.

This marks the Chicago directorial debut for Christopher Prentice, and whether "Weir" owes its success to his light touch or Signal's practiced craft, it makes a fine first impression.

Through March 25 at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division Street. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. For reservations (773) 347-1350 or info@signalensemble.com. Tickets cost $15; $10 for students and seniors with ID.