Waite, Mercer Find an Appealing Chemistry in ‘Gin Game’

Ever since its first production in 1977, “The Gin Game” has become a theatrical perennial. On one level, its persistent popularity is understandable. This simply structured two-character piece is a seductive vehicle for two older “name” actors to strut their dramatic stuff. On another level, D.L. Coburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play is enduringly problematic, regardless of recent revisions by the author.

The stars on deck in the current McCoy Rigby production at La Mirada Theatre are Ralph Waite and Marian Mercer, tried and true performers who, despite noticeable line flubs opening weekend, possess tremendous audience appeal. Waite plays Weller Martin, a former business owner now whiling away his tarnished golden years in a run-down nursing home. Mercer is Fonsia Dorsey, a prim and proper newcomer to the home. Weller and Fonsia bond over ongoing games of gin rummy, but Fonsia’s near-miraculous winning streak sparks Weller’s increasing frustration, and the gin game dangerously ruptures Weller and Fonsia’s civilized veneer, unleashing the full force of their accumulated bitterness.

At the peak of his rage, Weller should be Lear-like, formidable and pitiable. It’s a stretch for the avuncular Waite, and he labors at it a bit too obviously. Yet Waite does forge a lovely romantic chemistry with his co-star, Mercer, a fluttering, twittering delight--although too young for the role. We suspect that, in spite of her chronic diabetes, this Fonsia could still manage very well on her own.

Director Jules Aaron’s staging is typically smooth. Not so the dramatic transitions. Waite and Mercer do their best, but the fault lies not in our stars, but in the play. Weller and Fonsia believably convey the tragic indignities of old age--but, revisions notwithstanding, Coburn’s downbeat denouement still seems contrived, particularly Fonsia’s 11th-hour leap into nastiness.

However, Paulie Jenkins’ wintry lighting, T. Richard Fitzgerald and Julie Ferrin’s sound, Richard Odle’s costumes and James Noone’s wonderfully specific set--a ramshackle porch upon which the flowerpots tremble with each passing train--combine to create a wonderfully elegiac look that evokes a keen nostalgia.

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* “The Gin Game,” La Mirada Theatre, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends Nov. 21. $34. (562) 944-9801. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.