By Melinda Miller

This is my favorite scene in “Witch,” the beautifully staged new show from Road Less Traveled Productions: Elizabeth, the witch of the title (she’s not one, really), is negotiating with a Devil. He’s trying to make a deal: in exchange for her soul, he’ll help her “get even” with the townsfolk who shun her.

“Nobody says ‘No!’” the Devil boasts, before finding out there’s a first time for everything. Elizabeth demurs, then she begins to toy with him. She suggests he’s being (anachronistically) sexist. This is a petty deal, she believes. What would you give to a man? she asks him.

You got me, the Devil concedes. If Elizabeth were a man, he’d be offering respect, position and, most of all, power. As a footnote, no one would accuse a man of being a witch, no matter how many bad things happen around him.

Actors Wendy Hall and Chris Hatch executed this spirited back-and-forth so well you kind of expect it to end with one asking the other “Are you as hot as I am??!” And, indeed, sparks are flying all over the place in “Witch,” a dark comedy set in 1600s England, when a play called “The Witch of Edmonton” was making the rounds.

The original story was said to have been inspired by the fate of a disfigured woman named Elizabeth Sawyer, who was accused of being a murderous witch and conspiring with the Devil before being hanged in 1621. Playwright Jen Silverman turns the tale on its head, providing a 21st century fate for her heroine.

Even with the updates, “Witch” plays out like an old-school fairy tale, when bad things actually happened to some of the characters. It opens on a dark and stormy night, with Hall coming through the fog looking particularly witchlike (despite Elizabeth’s denials), thanks to Collin Ranney’s costume design, topped with wigs by Mariangela Mercurio.

Elizabeth lives alone on one side of the lavish set (Dyan Burlingame’s design) for her part of the play, while the dysfunctional household of Sir Arthur Banks sets up residence on the other. A widower, Sir Arthur unwittingly presides over a power struggle between his sensitive son Cuddy (Alex Anthony Garcia) and Frank Thorney (Johnny Barden), a tenant’s offspring who believes he was born under a star and destined for greatness.

While Cuddy would be content to pursue his passion for Morris dancing (“It’s seriously underrated!”), his status is threatened by Frank’s maneuvering to take Cuddy’s place as heir to Sir Arthur. Barden plays Frank as the Eddie Haskell of the castle. Handsome, confident and conniving, he bullies Cuddy while ingratiating himself to Mrs. Cleaver … er, Sir Arthur.

Sir Arthur (David Marciniak) cares for both young men, although he shows little understanding of either one. He mostly misses his long-dead wife, an ache that Marciniak makes painfully palpable in one monologue.

Renee Hawthorne completes the cast with a spunky portrayal of Winnifred, a serving girl with a big secret and, apparently, limited control over her emotions when pressed.

“Witch” is billed as a dark comedy and that’s the truth. The first act is a lively mix of comic elements and dramatic touches. In Act II, things get weirdly dark with some wicked twists as proverbial chickens come home to roost. With the lavishly detailed set, Scott Behrend’s knowing direction, lighting evocations by John Rickus and Katie Menke’s sound design, the result is a fully rounded theatrical production that blows away its intimate theatrical space.

The playbill says the setting is “Then-ish. But equally of our moment.” Ah! The magic of theater. Again.

“Witch” a dark comedy by Jen Silverman, continues at Road Less Traveled Theatre, 456 Main St., through Dec. 8. Showtimes are Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $52.50 to $57.50 (aisle); $32.50 for students with ID at roadlesstraveledproductions.org. Note that Thursdays are “Mighty Taco Student Thursdays,” with student tickets only $10 (cash only) when purchased with ID at the box office.