'The Gin Game': Jones & Tyson in winning revival

‘THE GIN GAME’: Cicely Tyson & James Earl Jones. Photo: Joan Marcus

THE GIN GAME
Written by D.L. Colburn
Directed by Leornad Foglia
Through January 10, 2016
Golden Theatre
252 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.thegingamebroadway.com

By David NouNou

Although The Gin Game won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1976 (trust me, that year was very slim pickings), one doesn’t necessarily see it for content but for the incredible actors and actresses that have played the roles of Fonsia Dorsey and Weller Martin over the last 40 years. Having been fortunate to have seen the original production in 1977 with Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn at this same theatre, I was too young to appreciate its subtle nuances. Saw it again as a revival in 1997 with Julie Harris and Charles Durning, I appreciated it more in middle age, but I thought they were too young for these roles. Now that I am older, I finally caught up with the play and two of its finest performers.

This time the cantankerous Weller is James Earl Jones, and the gentile, soft-spoken Fonsia is Cicely Tyson. They are both superb and sublime. Here are two performers at the top of their game, and believe me, these two have had their share of game. Whether it was in The Great White Hope and Fences for Mr. Jones, or The Trip to Bountiful for Ms. Tyson, they have never stopped giving excellent performances on the stage, screen and television.

The plot is simple. Weller has been in this old-age home for three months and doesn’t like mixing with the other octogenarians. Fonsia has just arrived and bonds with Weller over gin games. He is a sore loser and she gets feistier with every game. With every game they get to know each other better, as well as their real selves.

What makes this version so unique is when you consider the ages of both Ms. Tyson, who is 90, and Mr. Jones, 84, and their spot-on delivery. There isn’t a beat or a nuance that is lost, and their character changes are just remarkable. Leonard Foglia, the director, has matched them well and paced them accordingly to give them characterizations.

The new fall season has just started and there are lots of fine actors giving good performances, but I doubt that you will see greater ones than what Mr. Jones and Ms Tyson are displaying at the John Golden Theatre this fall.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 16, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on October 15, 2015