The Stakes are High in Theatre Three’s Stellar Production of “The Gin Game”
By Cindi Sansone-Braff
Photos Steven Uihlein, Theatre Three Productions, Inc.
Brilliantly directed by Colleen Rebecca Britt, Theatre Three’s production of D.L. Coburn’s masterpiece “The Gin Game” is a must-see! This thought-provoking two-act, two-person tragicomedy opened on Broadway in 1977, 
Bradlee Bing as Weller Martin and Marci Bing as Fonsia Dorseydirected by Mike Nichols and starring Hume Cronyn and his wife Jessica Tandy. Theatre Three’s noteworthy production features another husband-and-wife team, Bradlee E. Bing as the curmudgeon Weller Martin and Marci Bing as the prim and proper Fonsia Dorsey. The palatable onstage chemistry between the Bings is one of the highlights of this show.
Two-character plays must draw the audience in from the get-go and keep them riveted in their seats without relying on all the fanfare and fireworks associated with larger, more lavish productions. These two-hander plays are theatre stripped down to the bare bones, demanding dazzling, evocative, and humorous dialogue that, although spoken, must sound like a masterful duet. The action must be so precise and exacting that it comes off like a well-choreographed pas de deux, and the emotional stakes must be stacked so high that the characters appear to be engaged from start to finish in a duel-to-the-death war of the wills. “The Gin Game” smashingly succeeds on all these counts; therefore, it is not surprising that in 1978, Coburn garnered the Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
As the audience enters the theatre, Weller Martin is already onstage. He is sitting at a card table on the sun porch of the Bentley Nursing Home, playing a game of solitaire. With its rain-stained walls, Randall Parson’s set design captured the deary, depressing atmosphere of this poorly staffed, run-down nursing home.
The card games played throughout serve as a metaphor for life’s challenges. Weller and Fonsia show their hand by sparring, snarling, and swearing at each other, proving that words are weapons and angry, bitter ones will drive away those nearest and dearest to us. When the card games heat up, and the two hit below the belt, the play takes a dark turn for the worse.
Bradlee Bing as Weller Martin and Marci Bing as Fonsia DorseyBradlee Bing, with his expressive mannerisms and body language, gave a nuanced performance as Weller Martin, a hot-headed nursing home resident who fancies himself to be one of the best damn Gin players you’ll ever see. Bing has an innate sense of comedic timing, with a deadpan delivery that kept the audience in stitches.
Marci Bing was captivating as Fonsia Dorsey, a fragile and broken 71-year-old woman hellbent on hiding the painful truth of her existence. As her patience is continually tested by Weller, a big sore loser incapable of taking any responsibility for his actions, Fonsia reveals a side of herself that is as savage and self-sabotaging as her nemesis Weller. A less polished and seasoned actor might have considerable trouble bringing to life this slow-to-boil character who eventually explodes like an overstuffed pressure cooker, but Bing aced the role, receiving several long rounds of applause throughout her performance.
This play leaves you with the impression that it isn’t the hand you are dealt, your skills or lack of them, or whether providence or sheer luck blesses your lot, but ultimately, it is how you handle whatever life throws your way that determines the quality of your life and relationships.
“The Gin Game” runs now through February 3, 2024. To purchase tickets to this outstanding show or for additional information, please visit www.Theatrethree.com or call the Box Office at 631-928-9100.
Cindi Sansone-Braff is an award-winning playwright. She has a BFA in Theatre from UCONN and is a member of the Dramatists Guild. She is the author of “Grant Me a Higher Love,” “Why Good People Can’t Leave Bad Relationships,” and “Confessions of a Reluctant Long Island Psychic.” Her full-length Music Drama, “Beethoven, The Man, The Myth, The Music,” is published by Next Stage Press. www.Grantmeahigherlove.com.