“Whisper House,” a new musical directed by Peter Askin, has two fathers, in a manner of speaking. The music and lyrics are by Duncan Sheik with the libretto and lyrics by Kyle Jarrow.

Jarrow and Sheik, coming off their Tony Award-winning blockbuster “Spring Awakening,” were looking for a ghost-oriented project to write from the viewpoint of a young boy. Digging into their childhoods, they knew the power of the imagination. We can all remember the scary stories we heard as kids. They always seemed to take place in isolated locations, along with sounds that go bump-in-the-night, and we all know the effect such stories have on the young. So far, so good.

The story, set in wartime America of 1942, revolves around an isolated coastal Maine lighthouse, which, according to the local folk, claims that the ghosts of a passenger steamship that sank off shore in 1912 are still rummaging around the lighthouse and its grounds.

When an 11-year-old boy comes to live with his spinster, lighthouse keeper Aunt, a series of seemingly innocent acts by a Japanese handy-man-cum-assistant-lighthouse- keeper, set in motion a scenario of spies and sabotage in the boy’s imagination. Add the constant drumbeat and mantra of wartime America where posters of “Loose Lips Sink Ships” abound and where the war news becomes the fuel that drives the newspapers, movies, and radio broadcasts of the day, it’s easy to see why the young boy, whose father has just been killed by the Germans, becomes suspicious of those around him.

America is, after all, at war with Germany, Italy and the Japanese. The youngster sees himself as a patriot. (I couldn’t help thinking back to the time of the odious Hitler Youth movement of the 1930s where it was one’s duty to spy on everyone, with no exceptions, because you were doing your duty for der vaterland).

Metaphors and dichotomies abound in the story Jarrow and Sheik have created. The 1942 setting and its emotional arc, for example, make it easy to follow the contrails of that war, say to Iraq. Director Askin, however, keeps the focus on the core story, but gets to enjoy his flights of fancy and whimsy by having “the ghosts” sing all of the songs with an on-stage orchestra (behind a scrim) dressed in white tie and tails as ghostly reminders of the 1912 shipwreck.

None of the “live actors” sing a note in this production. None of the actors can see or hear any of the ghosts except one, 11-year-old Christopher (A.J. Foggiano), who turns in an astonishingly professional performance for one so young.

Mare Winningham takes the somewhat small, but pivotal role, of Aunt Lilly, and delivers a solid portrayal of a woman caught between many competing forces. (No, I don’t mean the ghosts.) Lilly’s no-nonsense approach to her nephew Christopher, as well as to the events of the day, are nicely realized in Winningham’s performance.

In short, the story is very spare of plot, and what plot there is, is not exactly clear or compelling. It’s a bit of a jumble. The “ghost singers” David Poe and Holly Brook grab the spotlight and focus when gliding across the stage, being careful not to touch the live actors, as they sing their songs. The songs’ lyrics are very dark, albeit, very meaningful. But because they come from the past of 1912, every time they appear, they retard the forward movement of the story. Also, I can’t recall or hum a single song from the score. That’s not a good sign for any musical that has commercial designs on record-albums, CD sales, and the like.

In the technical department, however, the Old Globe has few equals. The visually stunning lighthouse set and lighting, are appropriately murky and foreboding, while the sea sounds and projection special effects are very mood inducing.

“Whisper House” as written by Jarrow and Sheik, and visualized by Askin may be daring in concept, that is, presenting a musical in which the speaking cast sings nary a note could be labeled as not only bold, but risky as well However, the success of this creative and different format remains to be seen.