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The
Gin Game uses gin rummy as a metaphor for life's
struggles. Weller Martin (Morse), a nursing home
resident, is playing solitaire on a shabby
nursing home porch when he's joined by the prim
Fonsia Dorsey (Williams-Bernardo). United by
their dislike of the home and love for cards,
they begin playing gin. As Fonsia wins every
game and personal details are revealed, their
shared confidences become weapons in an
escalating conflict. Weller, desperate to
overcome a lifetime of defeats, seeks a victory
that remains elusive. Will he leave a broken
man? Will her rigidity lead to bitter and lonely
twilight years? Through their interactions, the
work explores themes of aging, competition, and
the search for connection.
Winner
of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, THE GIN
GAME debuted with Jessica Tandy (winning her a
Tony) and husband Hume Cronyn. It was revived on
stage with Julie Harris and Charles Durning as
well as James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson, and
for television with Mary Tyler Moore and Dick
Van Dyke.
Actors
Stephen Morse and Kate Williams-Bernardo
performed it together at the Willoughby Summer
Theater under the direction of Michael J. Rogan
this summer, and are pleased to reprise their
performance for this special event.
CVLT’s
River Street Playhouse, housed in a former
industrial space across the parking lot from the
main CVLT building, was founded in 1978 through
the vision of Don Edelman and the building's
owner, Steve Shields. Throughout the early 2000s
it focused on smaller, newer, or more unusual
material, as well as serving as CVLT's primary
storage space for costumes, props, and scenery.
CVLT took ownership of the building when Mr.
Shields passed away in 2011 and has been working
to revive it.
THE
GIN GAME marks the first time audiences will be
invited into our 65-seat proscenium space
post-COVID, following improvements including
updated lighting and sound. The proceeds from
this volunteer performance will help to continue
much needed repair and maintenance work.
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