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Hollywood and Broadway love tales of two broken souls coming together to find new life, new hope and a new beginning. Finding a fresh take on this old tale is hard, yet playwright Jeff Baron manages in “Visiting Mr. Green,” an amusing and well-crafted work chosen by the Florida Rep to close its 2007-08 season.

A two-person examination of love, loyalty, family and identity, “Visiting Mr. Green” is a small, subtle and well-acted gem that rewards the audience at every turn.

Eli Wallach led the play’s year-long Broadway run in 1997, and it has been translated into more than 20 languages and performed all over the world.

The play follows Ross Gardiner (Kraig Swartz), a young American Express executive forced to visit the crotchety Mr. Green (David S. Howard) as part of court-ordered community service after nearly running him down in traffic.

(This is the only note that rang false with me: Who drives in New York?)

No explosive work this, “Mr. Green” is a stylish, self-contained, literate piece that does not rely on scenery chewing or endless gulps of exposition to win audiences over; well-written and well-acted bouts of verbal warfare are the attraction on this stage, and the actors, ably shepherded by director Howard Millman, rise to the challenge.

Swartz and Howard are exemplary. The two are locked in an endless pas-de-deux, circling like prizefighters, battling with words and deeds to try to crack the other’s hardened emotional shells. The neurotic Swartz plays the stinging fly to Howard’s cranky kosher mule, and is drawn into the elderly widower’s world in spite of himself. The patter of Baron’s script captures the essence of this battle, even if it does often leave Howard’s character muttering comic one-liners once too often.

Swartz, who has appeared on “Saturday Night Live,” brings an impatience to his role that many young people must feel when dealing with the aged — respect, yet a feeling of insufferable superiority as he decides that he’s the one to put Mr. Green’s life back together. Thus, when Ross drops his own very gay bombshell halfway through and the tide is turned, the reversal of roles seems all the sweeter. Ross’ utter befuddlement at being repeatedly confounded by the old goat is just a symbol of his inner turmoil and Swartz lets all that show on stage.

Howard, a gifted veteran who appeared in the films “Moonstruck” and “Meet Joe Black,” takes what could have been a one-note role and mines comic gold. He gets laughs from throwaway lines, including an offstage bathroom exchange that shouldn’t be anything more than trite.

“Are you OK in there?”

“I’m 84. It doesn’t happen so fast anymore!”

Both Ross and Mr. Green have old hurts involving family that they help each other heal, as well as taking stumbling steps toward new identities for themselves: Mr. Green toward life after his wife’s death and Ross simply accepting himself for the first time.

“Visiting Mr. Green” is very much about finding new beginnings, or at least challenging long-held beliefs that might prove a barrier to love. Albeit not with each other.

One thing I’m not in love with is the décor in Mr. Green’s apartment set.

While the dozens of tchotchkes, the beautiful lamps and vintage refrigerator (and all those saltines) hit the right notes, the muddy brown walls seem a serious misfire. Surely crumbling wallpaper would be more appropriate to set the scene for a dingy Manhattan walk-up?

“Visiting Mr. Green” is a quiet, beautifully done piece of work. The writing is heartfelt and Swartz and Howard bring the characters to life with a deft touch that’s perfect for the tone of the play.

What did you think? Tell me at csilk@naplesnews.com.