Friday & Saturday at 7:30 PM
Sunday at 2:00 PM
at CVLT’s River Street Playhouse
56 River Street
$15 general admission
BoxOffice@CVLT.org
(440) 247-8955
Phone Sales 1-6 PM Tue-Fri
Box Office opens two hours before all performances.
Director — Michael J. Rogan
NOTE: Contains adult language and mature themes.
We suggest arriving as early as possible to all CVLT events. A map of parking options is available on our Contact page. In addition, traffic and parking in Chagrin Falls may be further affected by the 2024-25 bridge reconstruction project on N. Main Street. Please plan accordingly.
STARRING
Stephen Morse & Kate Williams-Bernardo
D. L. Coburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Gin Game has been staged many times since its debut in 1976 with a Tony-winning performance by Jessica Tandy with husband Hume Cronyn. Other notable revivals have included Charles Durning and Julie Harris, James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson, and a televised version with Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke.
The two-character ‘tragicomedy’ unfolds on the porch of a nursing home. Through a series of gin rummy games, we witness the complex relationship between Weller Martin (Stephen Morse) and Fonsia Dorsey (Kate Williams-Bernardo), two elderly residents grappling with aging, loneliness, and the search for dignity in their twilight years.
Coburn’s work explores themes of isolation, competitiveness, and the human need for connection. The card game becomes a metaphor for life’s unpredictability and the characters’ attempts to maintain control in their diminishing world. As the games progress, layers of the characters’ pasts and personalities are revealed, exposing both their vulnerabilities and their resilience.
56 River Street’s original owner Steve Shields with CVLT past President Tom Neff (June 2010)
The Gin Game will be the first public performance at CVLT’s River Street Playhouse since the pandemic. Founded in 1978 through the vision of Don Edelman and friends, the River Street Playhouse has presented over one hundred plays, often focusing on smaller, newer, or more unusual material than older sibling across the lot.
CVLT made use of this building and performance space through the generosity of it’s late owner, Mr. Steve Shields (1923 – 2011), a great friend and supporter of the Theatre for many decades. In recent years the building has required major maintenance and repairs, including roofing and HVAC work, which has been undertaken through the generosity of donors and grants. It has also benefited from many volunteer hours removing old props, costumes, and scenery, applying fresh paint, cleaning, etc.
There is much more to be done before our beloved River Street Playhouse can be brought fully back to life. Your attendance at The Gin Game helps to bring funds and attention back to this unique venue.
