The characters in Joe DiPietro’s sweetly gentle romantic comedy “The Last Romance” are all in need of a change in their lives. They have been trapped in routines, disappointments or regrets for past decisions.

Change may not come easily, but it needs to start with one person taking a chance to set off a chain reaction that impacts several lives in potentially positive ways.

In the play that closes Florida Studio Theatre’s summer mainstage season, the change agent is an 80-year-old widower named Ralph, who lives with his overly protective and bitter younger sister, Rose.

One day, he takes a different route on his daily walk and wanders into a dog park, beautifully rendered by scenic designers Isabel A. and Moriah Curley-Clay with the oranges and golds of fall leaves, a bench, a bridge and trees. That’s where Ralph spots a woman who catches his interest. We don’t know what Ralph was like before he spotted the unaware Carol Reynolds, but you get the sense that he’s a changed man from whatever he was the day before.

And it’s hard not to be caught up in the charms of actor John Guerrasio, who flirts, teases and jokes with the reticent Carol, determined to win her over before he knows anything about her. He’s ready to throw away his routine. So what if he misses an episode of “Jeopardy” or is a few minutes late for dinner. Maybe he has another chance at love.

And so does Carol, played by Laura Gardner in a manner you might expect. She’s initially put off by Ralph’s come-ons, not sure what to make of him. But she’s clearly been starved of attention, and something about his manner attracts her. After just a few minutes you can see her resolve start to melt away, though there’s more to her story to be revealed.

The play follows the development of whatever kind of relationship that may come from their afternoon visits in the park, and the efforts of Rose (Bonnie Black) to urge caution or put the kibosh on the whole thing. She’d like nothing more than to return to the schedule she knows and can rely on. She is overprotective of Ralph, whose health may not be as robust as it appears, but over the course of the play’s 90 minutes, you realize she’s really just protecting herself.

Black plays Rose as a woman who has been cocooned in some kind of shell that has hardened over the years and she doesn’t want any cracks to break through. She comes off as harsher than necessary (at least at first) but as revelations are made, you understand more about their complicated sibling relationship.

There’s a fourth character on stage as well, the younger version of Ralph, the one who auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera as a young man with the voice for a potential career before family commitments led him on a vastly different path.

Jason Sekili plays The Young Man, and while he doesn’t have quite the big operatic sound you may expect, he captures the charm and spirit of the younger Ralph. Sekili provides some musical and dramatic links as he appears occasionally, helping Ralph to change costumes while he sings, or making some comment with music to embellish a moment.

It is all staged at a pleasant pace by director Kate Alexander, without overstating the more dramatic or melodramatic moments, and allowing us to connect to the characters. It just feels comfortable.

DiPietro, who has written a string of hits from “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” to “Over the River and Through the Woods,” understands tradition and families. You may see things coming long before they are revealed, but there’s a light-hearted pleasure in watching situations develop.

“The Last Romance” by Joe DiPietro. Directed by Kate Alexander. Reviewed July 24, Florida Studio Theatre Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St., Sarasota. Through Aug. 16. Tickets are $25-$46. floridastudiotheatre.org; 941-366-9000