The Gin Game
Encyclopedia
The Gin Game is a two-person, two-act play by D.L. Coburn that premiered at American Theater Arts in Hollywood in September 1976, directed by Kip Niven. It was Coburn's first play, and the theater's first production.
, and they begin playing a series of games that Fonsia always wins. Weller's inability to win a single hand becomes increasingly frustrating to him, while Fonsia becomes increasingly confident.
While playing their games of gin, they engage in lengthy conversations about their families and their lives in the outside world. Gradually, each conversation becomes a battle, much like the ongoing gin games, as each player tries to expose the other's weaknesses, to belittle the other's life, and to humiliate the other thoroughly.
on October 6, 1977 at the John Golden Theatre
and ran for 517 performances. The play was directed by Mike Nichols
and starred the married couple Hume Cronyn
and Jessica Tandy
. The play has come to be closely associated with them. Jessica Tandy won the 1978 Tony Award
-- Best Actress in a Play. Cronyn and Tandy were replaced in the original Broadway run by E.G. Marshall and Maureen Stapleton
.
It was produced in the United Kingdom in 1999 with Joss Ackland
and Dorothy Tutin
at the Savoy Theatre
, directed by Frith Banbury
.
It was revived on Broadway
in 1997 at the Lyceum Theatre where it ran for 145 performances. Charles Durning
and Julie Harris
co-starred, directed by Charles Nelson Reilly
. It received Tony Award
nominations for Best Revival of a Play
, Leading Actress in a Play
and Direction of a Play
.
and Mary Tyler Moore
. The 1981 television adaption was produced by Michael Birkett, associate producer, Terry Hughes
, producer, and executive producers, Archer King
, Ellen Krass and Robert Dale Martin.
Awards
Nominations
Plot
Weller Martin and Fonsia Dorsey, two elderly residents at a nursing home for senior citizens, strike up an acquaintance. Neither seems to have any other friends, and they start to enjoy each other's company. Weller offers to teach Fonsia how to play gin rummyGin rummy
Gin rummy, or simply gin, is a two-player card game created in 1909 by Elwood T. Baker and his son C. Graham Baker. According to John Scarne, Gin evolved from 18th-century Whiskey Poker and was created with the intention of being faster than standard rummy, but less spontaneous than knock...
, and they begin playing a series of games that Fonsia always wins. Weller's inability to win a single hand becomes increasingly frustrating to him, while Fonsia becomes increasingly confident.
While playing their games of gin, they engage in lengthy conversations about their families and their lives in the outside world. Gradually, each conversation becomes a battle, much like the ongoing gin games, as each player tries to expose the other's weaknesses, to belittle the other's life, and to humiliate the other thoroughly.
Production history
The Gin Game opened on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
on October 6, 1977 at the John Golden Theatre
John Golden Theatre
The John Golden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 252 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan. Designed in a Moorish style along with the adjacent Royale Theatre by architect Herbert J. Krapp for Irwin Chanin, it opened as the Theatre Masque on February 24 1927 with the play Puppets of Passion...
and ran for 517 performances. The play was directed by Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
and starred the married couple Hume Cronyn
Hume Cronyn
Hume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
and Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
. The play has come to be closely associated with them. Jessica Tandy won the 1978 Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-- Best Actress in a Play. Cronyn and Tandy were replaced in the original Broadway run by E.G. Marshall and Maureen Stapleton
Maureen Stapleton
Maureen Stapleton was an American actress in film, theater and television.-Early life:Stapleton was born Lois Maureen Stapleton in Troy, New York, the daughter of Irene and John P. Stapleton, and grew up in a strict Irish American Catholic family...
.
It was produced in the United Kingdom in 1999 with Joss Ackland
Joss Ackland
Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...
and Dorothy Tutin
Dorothy Tutin
Dame Dorothy Tutin DBE was an English actor of stage, film, and television.An obituary in The Daily Telegraph described her as "one of the most enchanting, accomplished and intelligent leading ladies on the post-war British stage...
at the Savoy Theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, directed by Frith Banbury
Frith Banbury
Frith Banbury, MBE was a British theatre actor and stage director.- Biography :Frith Banbury was born in Plymouth, Devon, on 4 May 1912. He was the son of Rear Admiral Frederick Arthur Frith Banbury and his wife Winifred...
.
It was revived on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1997 at the Lyceum Theatre where it ran for 145 performances. Charles Durning
Charles Durning
Charles Durning is an American actor. With appearances in over 100 films, Durning's memorable roles include police officers in the Oscar-winning The Sting and crime drama Dog Day Afternoon , along with the comedies Tootsie, To Be Or Not To Be and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the last two...
and Julie Harris
Julie Harris
Julia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...
co-starred, directed by Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
. It received Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations for Best Revival of a Play
Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
The Tony Award for Best Revival has only been awarded since 1994. Prior to that, plays and musicals were considered together for the Tony Award for Best Revival...
, Leading Actress in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
and Direction of a Play
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play
The Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play has been given since 1960. Before 1960 there was only one award for both play direction and musical direction, then in 1960 the award was split into two categories: Dramatic and Musical. In 1976 the Dramatic category was renamed to Play...
.
Adaptations
Adaptations for television versions were made in 1981 with Cronyn and Tandy and in 2002 with Dick Van DykeDick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
and Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
. The 1981 television adaption was produced by Michael Birkett, associate producer, Terry Hughes
Terry Hughes
Terry Hughes may refer to:* Terry Hughes , American Major League Baseball player* Terry Hughes , British comedy television director* Terry Hughes , California State Legislature member...
, producer, and executive producers, Archer King
Archer King
Archer King is an American theatrical agent, producer and actor.King acted in the Broadway productions Summer Night and Stop Press in 1939. These were followed by service in World War II...
, Ellen Krass and Robert Dale Martin.
Awards and nominations
Awards
- 1978 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Nominations
- 1978 Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play
- 1978 Tony Award for Best Play
- 1997 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Revival of a Play
- 1997 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play