THEATER REVIEW:’Deadly’ court in session in Newport

Old lawyers and judges never die, they just fade away to a Swiss mountaintop and conduct mock trials to keep their courtroom skills intact in retirement.

If a stranger should happen to drop by on a dark and stormy night, those old legal eagles — all clad in tuxedos — can put him in the dock, as well, just for the hell of it. And hell is precisely what lies ahead if the poor fellow is convicted.

At least, that’s what transpires in James Yaffe’s “The Deadly Game” — adapted from Friedrich Durrenmatt’s novel “Trapps” — in which the above scenario is played out in earnest. The Newport Theatre Arts Center has mounted a tight, skillfully acted production of this play, which should invoke mixed feelings among the legal profession.

Director Terri Miller Schmidt has come up with three actors of advanced age, all giving quality performances as they close in on an unwitting traveling salesman and ponder over why they’d like to bring him to justice.

What might seem obvious — and ominous — to the other actors and the audience is never fully comprehended by the hapless defendant.

Presiding over the kangaroo court is a retired judge, played by Bob Kokol, whose affability in the play’s earlier scenes turns to polished steel when the trial begins. The bewhiskered Kokol both looks and acts the part of a fearsome jurist.

Joining him in the roles of prosecutor and defense attorney, respectively, are Howard Patterson and Brian J. Page, both of whom take unusual pleasure in their charade.

Patterson’s serpentine moves are intended to trip up the defendant, while Page battles unevenly but stalwartly to prevent the suspect from convicting himself.

Caught in the midst of this legal wrangling is Kevin Deegan as the salesman who seeks warmth and rest after his auto has come to rest in a snowdrift. Deegan initially overplays his bravado and sarcasm, fueled into cliche land by repeated doses of liquor, but scores splendidly once he drops the stereotypical facade.

The petite Amber Rose Dische adds further suspense to the story, as she flits on and off stage at the whim of her employer, while J.L.T. Williams enacts an ancient partner of the barristers whose function, once revealed, closes Act I with a shudder.

Shane Cervantes muscles his way into the foreground as a mute bailiff and Michelle Galvin brightens the final scene as a soon-to-be-tried visitor.

The intrigue is played out against a stunning backdrop, designed and dressed by Andrew Otero, who also served as scenic artist. Tom Phillips’ costumes (primarily tuxedos) are effective and director Schmidt’s choice of classical music to emphasize the uneasiness is superb.

Go and play “The Deadly Game” if you dare. Just don’t try to outwit these elderly gentlemen who have lifetime experience in their corner.