On the heels of an inspired and huge production of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” which transferred to Manhattan’s Arclight Theater, The Schoolhouse Theater in Croton Falls last weekend opened “Appointment with a High Wire Lady,” Russell Davis’ intimate three-person play about love, loss and memory.

The evening is quieter and smaller than its predecessor and, in the end, less satisfying.

“Appointment with a High Wire Lady” involves Richard (Colin Hafkey), a catatonic man in a state institution who is visited by his ex-girlfriend, Louise (Yvette Lenhart).

The third character is Carla, a mysterious old patient who helps Louise break through and reach Richard. Carla, the play’s most unusual and compelling character (played by a luminous Ruth Reid), gets the least stage time.

In keeping with Schoolhouse tradition, the acting is first-rate.

Hafkey, Lenhart and Reid demonstrate an impressive command for the subtlety of their characters. Director Ray Munro’s staging is effective, with some memorable stage pictures, including the final moment of Act 1 when all three actors share one small space.

Hafkey as Richard is a man in the middle of a fog, unable to move or feel, trying to recall his past life but reduced to single syllables. He begins both acts in a catatonic state, mouth agape, staring off. As the action progresses and the fog begins to lift, Hafkey welcomes each revelation with a gee-whiz wonder that is charming.

Lenhart’s Louise is caught in the middle, intimidated by unfamiliar surroundings, feeling guilty at the loss of the relationship, yet wanting to help Richard recover and move on, as she has. When, late in the action, she relates a turning point in her life, the tears flow.

As Carla, Reid captures a woman in the throes of dementia who often delivers the funniest or wisest lines. When she returns to note that Richard is not in his customary chair, she tells Louise: “You moved him.”

And Louise has. Richard makes great strides.

What keeps the evening from advancing beyond a nifty acting exercise, however, is Davis’ dialogue. Having breathed life into these characters and put them in this visiting room, Davis too often relies on stiff dialogue and fixates on words: Louise has a “particular” face, time is “particular,” someone’s feet are “particular”; Richard once was “exuberant,” Louise was “exuberant,” Carla was “exuberant” in Croatia.

If one of the patients were fixated on these words, it could play as a nice character point – like Dustin Hoffman’s obsession with “Who’s on First” in “Rain Man.” But Louise, the nonpatient, uses these words, too.

John Pollard’s set is appropriately institutional – an effective mix of tiles, steel and bars that serves as a blank canvas onto which these characters dab bits of memory, real or imagined.

David Pentz’s use of fluorescent lights gives a stark state-institution feel to the proceedings, but later, when key monologues demand dimmer lighting, the fluorescents don’t shut off in unison and leave us waiting for that last light to flicker off before we can focus on what’s important.

Kimberly Matela’s costumes fit the piece. Richard’s Act 1 pajamas give way to a dressier outfit in the second act, revealing at first sight that the character has changed. Actually, everyone is dressier in Act 2, even Carla, whose slippers get a facelift.

The show’s title comes from a line in Carla’s final monologue, a speech that seems tacked on somehow. After two hours, the end comes abruptly.

The acting and direction is fine, but the script is a letdown. If two out of three is good enough, get to The Schoolhouse. Otherwise, there’s another appointment you might consider: with “The Crucible” in Manhattan.

PHOTO courtesy of the Schoolhouse Theater: Richard (Colin Hafkey), a catatonic man in a state institution, is visited by his ex-girlfriend, Louise (Yvette Lenhart).

‘Appointment with a High Wire Lady’
Where: The Schoolhouse Theater, 3 Owens Road, Croton Falls.
When: Through March 9. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays.
Tickets: $25 on Thursdays and Fridays and $29 on Saturdays and Sundays.
Call: 914-277-8477.
Web: www.schoolhousetheater.org.
With: Colin Hafkey, Yvette Lenhart, Ruth Reid.
Next: The Schoolhouse holds a fundraising gala April 18, with Frank Ferrante’s “An Evening with Groucho” followed by the season’s final mainstage production: Neil Simon’s “Lost in Yonkers.”