King vs. queen

Veteran local actor Ed Claudio is hanging his hat in a new location. It’s literally a storefront operation. On weekdays, the Stage Nine Theatre in Old Folsom operates as a shop, selling showbiz bric-a-brac. On weekends, the merchandise is moved aside and 40-some stackable chairs are set out in rows in front of a small stage for performances by the Actor’s Theater of Folsom.

This interesting business model partially solves a common theatrical dilemma: “How do you cover a week’s rent, when you only stage shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday?” Claudio is the artistic director and actress Connie Mockenhaupt and set designer Mike Jimena run the business side.

Folsom offers several immediate advantages over Claudio’s former venture, the Actor’s Theater of Sacramento, located on the socioeconomically challenged Del Paso Boulevard. Folsom already has a cluster of popular restaurants, something Del Paso has struggled to sustain. The typical Folsomite also has discretionary income and few live-entertainment options nearby. Stage Nine’s productions already are drawing better than Claudio’s old place.

Claudio’s also moderated his artistic approach. Back on Del Paso, he periodically did literary classics by Samuel Beckett, Eugene O’Neill and William Saroyan. In Folsom, the programming is decidedly middle-of-the-road, at least for now. The first season will include a Neil Simon comedy and an Agatha Christie whodunit, but it opens with something more substantial: D.L. Coburn’s well-constructed two-hander The Gin Game.

The Gin Game, winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize, is a battle of the sexes, mostly over cards, between two retirees in a seedy old-folks home. It’s a perfect choice for Claudio. He can do older guys whose charming exteriors conceal an irritable, even bitter, underside better than anyone else in town. What’s more, in this small space you can hear every sotto voce mumble. It’s a fine performance, beautifully paced from start to finish.

Mockenhaupt plays opposite him. She seems happy and sociable at first, appearing to be a novice at cards when in fact she’s got a pretty good understanding of the game (and her male friend’s agenda, to say nothing of his personality). Mockenhaupt doesn’t push the dark side of her character as much as we’ve seen in other productions, but we see enough to realize that neither of these card players is an angel.