The Gin Game

by D.L. Coburn

Comedy/Drama

Characters: 1 male, 1 female

Exterior Set

This winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize, which originally starred Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn and later revived with Julie Harris and Charles Durning, uses a game as a metaphor for life. Weller Martin is playing solitaire on the porch of a seedy nursing home. Enter Fonsia Dorsey, a prim, self righteous lady. They discover they both dislike the home and enjoy gin rummy so they begin to play and to reveal intimate details of their lives. Fonsia wins every time and their secrets become weapons used against one another. Weller longs for a victory to counter a lifetime of defeats but it doesn't happen. He leaves the stage a broken man and Fonsia realizes her self-righteous rigidity has led to an embittered, lonely old age.

"A thoroughly entertaining lesson in the fine art of theatrical finesse. The closest thing the theatre offers to a duel at 10 paces."-The New York Times

"Extremely intelligent..fine bittersweet comedy...Funny, sad, profane, eloquent, touching, beautiful."-WABC-TV

"Perfect...A vibrant study on loneliness, disillusion, old age and death yet fiercely funny."-The Boston Globe

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, Fiction

73 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1979

Reviews

[Tracy P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Realistic, humorous, sad, and authentic insight into what life is like in an assisted living facility. The two main characters play gin and reflect upon their lives - regrets, resentments, and anger all intertwined. . .with heart-rendering realism.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tragic and hilarious card game on the porch of an old folk's home with just one man and one woman. It won a Pulitzer Prize. I was blessed to see it performed by Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two senior citizens play gin at a retirement home. And there’s some forced drama to give the story a plot. I wanted to like this one more than I did and finished it feeling like it was more a half-sketched idea than a fully realized play. Quasi-recommended.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m slowly working my way through Pulitzer Prize-winning plays. The Gin Game won the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for drama. This is an intense, heartbreaking play set on the porch of an “old folks home” that is not as nice as the ones the main characters had been at or wanted to be at. Fonsia and Weller becomes friends and rivals over a game of gin. Their addiction to the game and competition bring out the worst in each other and it’s disastrous.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not enjoy reading this. It was upsetting and sad … AND realistic AND somehow also scathingly funny for much of it. I could see people I know (not even geriatric or in assisted living) who are reflected in these two characters. So I’d call it a good, but difficult read that holds up even (especially?) in todays world. Especially because there’s no easy resolution - again realistic AND ugh!

[Danica · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5🌟 Very odd play. I know it won a Pulitzer Prize for Best Play, but I'm not sure why. Neither character was likable and there was not much story to it. Something about it did keep me intrigued, maybe just curious on where this Gin Game was going. You really could feel their emotions and it would be interesting to see it as a play.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many years ago I was privileged to see The Gin Game performed by Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn. They were marvelous and the language was less profane than in this production. At 75 I am now older than the players and have a different perspective on being in a nursing home. Simply a great play. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Ben Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the LA Theatre works version - its an engaging play not 100% sure I picked up all that is going on. Is she cheating? A fun and quick two hander.

[Camilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's theater! What's there not to love.

[Brian McCann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than I remember it. I wish I saw Tandy and Cronyn I this play; a revival with Charles Durning and Julie Harris was just meh when I saw it on tour in Boston.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick paced, clever, with engaging characters.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just wanted them to play some fun games of gin rummy :-(

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a slow-burning play driven equally by its dialogue and subtext. As an audience, you would have to listen intently if you wanted to catch every important detail, which means a production of this play would require two very seasoned actors to keep this rather motionless play interesting. With the wrong actors, this play could be a disaster.

However, when staging it in my mind, this is a pretty intense play.

4/5

[Ceejay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know this play is a classic.As for me, I just didn't care for it. There is more to being old then this play presents.I found it to be depressing. As I have found in my retired life, being alone doesn't mean a person has to be lonely. When I retired, my old life ended and a new life began.If I run out of money, or ill health overtakes me, then another phase comes to an end, and a new one begins. That's how it relly is.

[Rusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm currently rehearsing a production of this terrific play, in the role of Weller.

It's a wonderful play exploring the relationship between a man and a woman who play the card game Gin while in a senior living center - brilliantly written.

Adding to my Re-Read list, as we're currently performing this in a workshop production...so I'm reading it every day.

[Marc · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok, but not Pulitzer worthy in my opinion...though there were a few funny lines. I was considering seeing the 2015 revival on Broadway with James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson during my next trip there in November, but glad I opted for other shows...

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite plays ever. I could not put it down. Anybody who is thinking about working in theater should read this play.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

All my theatrical life I have heard about "The Gin Game" but never saw it or read it until today. What a challenging script! I am thinking of doing it with a friend as a reading sometime.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Character study.

[Misti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. Super depressing.

[Claudia Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always looking for new material for scene study or monologs.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good character study of who we are vs. how we want to be perceived.