The bittersweet little show “Now and Then” is the epitome of what one expects from a night out at Desiderio’s Dinner Theatre.  A romantic-comedy-drama, “Now and Then’s” cross-generational story is told with touches of humor, pathos and mystery—a filling three-course theatrical meal.

Playwright Sean Grennan packs a lot into an unusual late-night bar encounter after closing time, using just four cast members and one nicely appointed barroom set. Under the guidance of director Jay Desiderio, who knows exactly how to handle this type of material, the players easily make us feel as though we are sitting only a couple of bar stools away as their story plays out.

First we meet Jamie (Andrew Salamone), a young bartender who has big plans for the night after he gets off work. He’s eager to go and already has started to close up when a rather anxious older fellow (Steve Jakiel) comes in looking for a drink. 

Anyone who has ever worked as a server dreads getting last-minute customers, but Jamie gives in to the guy’s entreaties and pours him what is supposed to be a quick one. (It’s 1981 and the drink costs “a buck and a quarter,” getting one of the first of many laughs of the night.)

Much to Jamie’s dismay, his guest settles in and is still keeping his seat warm when Abby (Sarah Emmerling), Jamie’s girlfriend, arrives. Unaware that Jamie is itching to leave because he wants to ask her something very important, Abby takes an interest in the old gent, even though he asks a lot more questions than he answers. 

One question he asks is about their incomes (meager), which leads the older fella to offer each of them first hundreds and then $1,000 each to stay and chat with him for an hour. Jamie, still hoping for the night he had planned, is weirded out and wants to say no. However, pragmatic Abby is all in. After all, they’re in a safe place, the guy seems harmless and $2,000 is a heck of a nice hourly payday in 1981. 

And so, they chat, and we relax. The actors have a comfortable handle on the back-and-forth conversations that follow, all the while casually dropping hints that things aren’t exactly what they seem. Finally, Jamie exposes one secret, right before another latecomer bursts in, with a secret of her own and the stage goes dark. (This isn’t a spoiler; Lisa Hinca is in the program handout.)

After Intermission we are back in the bar with much livelier, more detailed dialogue among the four characters. It turns out they have a lot in common and, along with that, a few things to work out. Which they do, so vigorously we feel part of it, to the point of being tempted to holler out unsolicited advice of our own – “Don’t do it!” Or “Go ahead!” Or “Listen to him/her!” Or even “Are you crazy?!” 

Resist that impulse. They are going to do what they are going to do.

Artistic director David Arisco from the Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables, Fla., has posted online an interview with Grennan, the playwright, before a production there of “Now and Then.” Grennan also wrote “Making God Laugh,” seen a couple years ago at Desiderio’s. That show was based on a Woody Allen joke (“Want to make God laugh? Tell him your plans.) 

Grennan tells Arisco that he got the idea for “Now and Then” when he was reading and came across a word he had never seen before: “Enouement.”

He looked it up. “It means a wistful sadness at not being able to tell your younger self what you know now,” he said. “It hit me like a knife in the chest and it spawned the whole play.” 

Which leave us wondering: Should we listen to the voices of experience? Or is it better to learn from our own mistakes and achievements? Also, if we can’t change our own minds, do we have any business trying to change somebody else’s? And what is worse on the back end of life: Regretting the things you did, or the things you didn’t do? 

It’s nice to have something to talk about after the theater, and “Now and Then” delivers in that regard without being aggressive, flippant or gloomy about it. Plus, you can always reflect on dinner. We had the fish special with risotto and the eggplant parm, with enough of that left over for lunch. All delicious. 

“Now and Then” continues at Desiderio’s, located in Bobby J’s Italian American Grille, 204 Como Park Boulevard, Cheektowaga, through April 13. Shows are most Thursdays and Saturdays, with dinner at 6 p.m. and show at 7:30, and Sundays, with meal at 1 p.m. and show at 2:30 p.m. There is an added show Wednesday April 2. Cost is $64 to $74, depending on entrée. 

Call 716-395-3207 for reservations. Parking is in the rear; groups are welcome (and in my experience always seem to have a great time).