Lawson Taitte

FORT WORTH – It's a good thing that Chamblee Ferguson and Gigi Cervantes are two of Texas' most charming actors. Otherwise Dex & Julie Sittin' in a Tree might be impossible to sit through.

Circle Theatre opened Bruce Graham's play on Friday, only the second production anywhere. The company has mounted three of the Pennsylvania-based writer's scripts before. They were all stronger than this disappointing venture.

Glen Ellman

Gigi Cervantes and Chamblee Ferguson in 'Dex & Julie Sittin' in a Tree' by Fort Worth's Circle Theatre

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Dex and Julie were lovers in college 25 years ago and have been out of touch since. Now Dex is one of those celebrity defense lawyers you see on CNN. His alma mater has invited him back to receive a distinguished alumnus award.

Turns out Julie is now a professor at the old school. She has invited Dex to stay with her for the weekend, and she flirts outrageously as he puts on his tux for the big dinner.

Julie's a recent widow. She knows all about the spectacular collapse of Dex's two marriages, too; it's all out there on Google for anybody to read. A certain chemistry seems to be rekindling between the two,but will it lead anywhere?

Not that we care all that much, given the two characters involved. Dex, a selfish womanizer, admits that he's never known what love is. Soon we understand that Julie nurses a terrible grudge against him for dropping her when he went off to law school. She starts playing mind games that quickly cause her to lose whatever sympathy we might have had for her.

At first, Mr. Ferguson's brutally frank characterization of Dex makes you wonder why he has to venture to Fort Worth to get such a strong dramatic part. (His Moon for the Misbegotten at Circle a few years back was a triumph.) Here, as the plot takes turns you can see a mile ahead, the writing eventually defeats the actor. Not even the ministrations of a savvy director like Matthew Gray can help.

After a number of baffling and alienating scenes, Ms. Cervantes gets some better material to work with toward the end. Sadly, however, it's not enough to keep two fine performers from being stranded up this particular tree.

PLAN YOUR LIFE Through Oct. 18 at Circle Theatre, Fort Worth. Runs 130 mins. $20 to $30. 817-877-3040; www.circletheatre.com.