Gin rummy is a card game in which the player must draw and discard to earn points. In the Pulitzer Prize winning play by D.L. Coburn, The Gin Game, the two characters, residents of a retirement home, are feeling rather like discards in the great gin game of life. They draw from each other in an ongoing dynamic that keeps them on edge - and thus alive.
This clever play for two people (known as a two-hander) will be performed at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons opening Thursday, Oct. 14, brought to the stage by C.E. Productions.
Colleen Elson plays Fonsia Dorsey, the better gin player, and a newcomer to the Coast. Mac Dodge plays the part of Weller Martin, who becomes increasingly cranky as he constantly loses.
Elson is the veteran performer of many Driftwood Players productions, last seen in Soldiering On, part of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads, last summer for the Showcase of the Performing Arts. Dodge taught drama and film in Ontario, and his love of acting and teaching involved him in Carousel Players, theatre for children.
"There is lots of humour in this play, but with two tragic characters," he said.
Their constant bickering exposes much of their lives to one another. The prim Fonsia is driven to utter a swear word that she's never ever used before, and in a rage, Weller is driven to smash his cane against a chair.
When the play was first performed in 1976, it might have got no further than a limited run, except for actor Hume Cronyn. He took an interest in it and brought it to Broadway, where he performed opposite Jessica Tandy. The play was nominated for four Tony Awards. Cronyn and Tandy give Dodge and Elson much to live up to.
The director of The Gin Game, Dave Hurtubise, also directed last season's successful Little Shop of Horrors. From that huge production of almost 100 cast and crew, he's turned to this much smaller, tighter gem.
"Two-handers take guts," Hurtubise said. "You have to develop an understanding of the other actor. What you do affects them."
Zeta Gaudet as producer and Angie Cruickshank as stage manager with assistance rounds out the crew.
The Gin Game runs Oct. 14 to 16, 21 to 23 and 28 to 30 at 8 p.m. with matinées at 2 p.m. on Oct. 17 and 24. Tickets for $15 are available at Gaia's Fair Trade, Hallmark Cards and the Sechelt Visitors Centre.
