The Gin Game Revival
Two hours, with one intermission
The Gin Game - 2015 Broadway History , Info & More
John Golden Theatre (Broadway)
252 West 45th St. New York, NY
Weller Martin (James Earl Jones) and Fonsia Dorsey (Cicely Tyson) meet on the porch of their nursing home and strike up a friendship, with Weller teaching Fonsia how to play gin rummy. As they play, they share stories about the lives they led in the outside world. But when Fonsia wins every hand, Weller becomes increasingly frustrated, until their gin games and conversations become a battleground, with each player exposing the other's failures, disappointments and insecurities.
Mr. Jones and Ms. Tyson are sharing a Broadway stage for the first time since 1966, when they appeared in A Hand Is On The Gate at the Longacre Theatre. They also starred in the long-running Off-Broadway production of Jean Genet's The Blacks. They starred opposite each other in the film The River Niger and the TV movie "Heat Wave." Mr. Jones is a two-time Tony Award winner (Fences, The Great White Hope), three-time Emmy Award winner ("Heat Wave," "Gabriel's Fire," "Summer's End") and the recipient of a Grammy Award and an Honorary Academy Award. Ms. Tyson is a Tony Award-winner (The Trip to Bountiful), a three-time Emmy Award winner ("The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," "The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All") and an Academy Award nominee (Sounder).
The Gin Game - 2015 - Broadway Cast
PREVIEW The Gin Game - 2015 - Broadway
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FEATURED REVIEWS FOR The Gin Game
Broadway Review: ‘The Gin Game’ with Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones
8 / 10
...this two-hander really is a slip of a thing, elevated to dramatic art by captivating Broadway performances from two of the most enchanting actors you'd ever hope to see on the same stage...the real name of this game is 'Let's Pretend,' and Fonsia and Weller are doing a brilliant job of pretending that they are still alive and that they still matter -- if not to society, then to each other...Like the principals in any other romantic comedy, the stars handle this relationship with delicacy, restraint, and great wit -- until the supposedly untutored Fonsia starts winning big-time. Both stars play to their strengths in Leonard Foglia's beautifully paced production. Jones makes wonderful use of Weller's superior size and strength to bully and bluster his way through every contested hand, while Tyson's priceless skills in the gentle art of passive aggression make the oh-so-delicate Fonsia a fierce and formidable opponent.
'The Gin Game' review: Stars shine in uneven revival
7 / 10
There's probably not much that a pair of old pros like James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson couldn't put over on stage. At age 84, he still possesses that haunting, deep bass voice; is still capable of sliding like quicksilver from gentle humor to powerhouse authority. At age 90, she still looks ethereal and commands attention despite that tiny frame and sometimes whispery manner...They generate considerable laughs alongside moments of quiet tenderness, and each actor find moments to shine and other moments to relinquish the spotlight -- it's a duet with glorious solos. Where this 'Gin Game' stumbles is in its second half, when Coburn's play takes a series of dark turns and the two characters begin mercilessly attacking one another. Except director Leonard Foglia and his actors don't entirely take those turns alongside Coburn, preferring instead to keep the tone broad and semi-jokey...The result feels a little too much like empty calories; a 'Gin Game' that goes down exceedingly easy, but leaves you hungry for real substance.
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The Gin Game History
Other Productions of The Gin Game
| 1977 | Broadway |
Broadway |
| 1997 | Broadway |
Broadway |
| 2015 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
The Gin Game - 2015 Broadway Awards and Nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Cicely Tyson |
| 2016 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | D.L. Coburn |
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