Billed as "children's theater for adults" and including an acting company that doubles as a jug band, the Late Night Lab Theater production of Suzan Zeder's "Wiley and the Hairy Man" sadly falls short on its promise.

The ingredients are good — nightmares, voodoo, and a primordial swamp thing that steals little children. Zeder's play is adapted from a folk tale in which a young boy must outwit a literal boogeyman in order to be free to grow up.

Using actors as musicians is an interesting gimmick to merge dialogue and music and a good opportunity for presentational theatrics. A jug band is relatively undemanding and democratically inclusive — since just about anyone can shake a tambourine or strum a washboard — and fits the rural backwater location.

But director Tommy Barron never delivers on his "for adults" theme. There's only a good deal of yee-hawing by actors in bib overalls and bare feet — much like a hillbilly version of "Lassie" — demonstrating once again that a boy's best friend is his dog.

Most unfortunately, the jug band isn't integrated into the performance. They play an opening set and reappear for a curtain call number, but — except for Ryan Wuestewald's canine panting into a harmonica — they put aside their instruments during the body of the play.

D'Neka Patten is Wiley, Geoff Bangs is the Hairy Man, and Rhiannon McCullough is Mammy. The rest of the band hangs around as stage hands and living props — filling in as living trees, brambles and squiggly, swampy flora.

The cast throw themselves into the action — literally. Barron's staging is very physical as actors tumble, grovel, and sometimes hurl through the air. There's also a lot of shouting, whining, and some considerable growling (and not just from the dog).

What's missing is variety.

Although there are different versions, the basis of the story is that Wiley must successfully trick the Hairy Man three times in order to be finally free from him. That basic repetition is common to many folk tales and legends, providing grounding and substance. But audiences catch on quickly and can see a curve ball coming unless each pitch is significantly different.

"Wiley" feels longer than its one-hour playing time and this "Hairy Man" is ultimately bested by the lack of new ideas.