Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio is a novel of vignettes, a story driven by the little things. There's the dreary Presbyterian minister Rev. Curtis Hartman, who only delivers an inspir- ing sermon after peering into a woman's bedroom window at night. Afraid of being a spinster, 27-year-old Alice Hindman runs through the streets naked in the rain. Sad Dr. Reefy scribbles his dreams on slips of paper, which crumple up over time into hardened "pills, "and the omnis- cient young journalist George Willard watches the whole town unfold before his eyes. This voyeuristic depiction of the neuroses and dysfunctions of Main Street America predated American Beauty by some 80 years, and remains a classic because of its vivid attention to detail. But will those details hold up when the Arden presents it as a musical?

"I think that's what sold me on the idea, "says director Terrence Nolan. "I had no idea how they'd do it. "He dis- covered Winesburgin its original pro- duction by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2004, and was thrilled by the way the songs, scoring and stories jived so well. This isn't big, show-stop- ping Broadway schmaltz;this is a five- piece band playing scaled-back music befitting of the time period — a folk, bluegrass and Americana blend Nolan calls "Copeland-esque. "For its East Coast premiere, the Arden enlisted award- winning scenic designer Daniel Ostling to recapture the book's dated idea of sen- sationalism. His set is a sparse, two- tiered apse where all the action takes place behind rows of hanging windows. "When Winesburgcame out, it was con- sidered shocking and vulgar, "Nolan says. "We're trying to find out what is so shocking about it, trying to capture what it is about these characters that sets them apart. "

Winesburg, Ohio, Thu.-Sat., Oct. 6-8, 8 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 9, 2 p.m.; Tue., Oct. 11, 7 p.m.; Wed., Oct. 12, 6:30 p.m.; $27-$45, through Nov. 6, Arden Theatre Co., 40 N. Second St., 215-922-1122, www.ardentheatre.org.