Greta Oglesby and Terry Hempleman Photo by Rich Ryan

The harshness of the play is the experience of sitting through a series of games of gin played by two residents of a second- or perhaps third-rate nursing home. The two players, Weller (Hempleman) and Fonsia (Oglesby), approach the games as a series of duels, each trying to one-up the other–in actual card play, yes, but also in their attempts to claim higher moral ground over the other.

Weller has been living at the nursing home for some months. We find him in the sunroom listlessly playing solitaire. Fonsia, a recent arrival walks in, unaware the room is occupied. It is visitors' day and neither has a visitor, so they strike up a conversation. For Weller, having no visitors is par for the course, and he complains about the noise and commotion caused by all those interlopers. He is the kind of guy whose picture you would find in the dictionary next to the word "curmudgeon."

Weller invites Fonsia to play gin. She demurs–it's been years, she doesn't remember how–but he coaxes her, gives her a quick refresher, and promises to take it slow. To both of their surprise, she wins. Calling it beginner's luck, they continue, and so does her winning streak. Weller becomes increasingly agitated, as if her victories are some kind of moral judgement upon him. As they chit chat, we come to learn more about them, gradually understanding that neither is what they claim to be. They each seize upon bits of intel from that chat to stick barbs into the other, like pins in a voodoo doll. We wonder where this relationship, based on nothing but cards and mutual loneliness, will go.

D. L. Coburn, the playwright, worked in advertising and marketing and was 38 when the The Gin Game premiered in Los Angeles, in 1976. Since then, he has written a handful of other plays that never gained traction and a few television pilots that were not picked up, making him a candidate for "one hit wonder" status. Still, The Gin Game is a strong enough play, with enduring themes to make that one hit worth remembering and remounting. The way in which people construct mythologies about their own lives, and the instinct that drives them to dispel those myths told by others is a fascinating, though often unpleasant, human impulse. It may feel like protective armor, yet actually keeps us from being fully actualized or engaged with others in an authentic way.

Price expertly paces this two-hander with just enough space in between the back-and-forth verbal thrusts to feel that they took the second or two needed to form a response, and are not just spouting out rehearsed lines. There are also wonderful silences during their card games, often with evocative non-verbal behaviors that tell us as much as do the pair's words.

Templeman's take on Weller, ornery, cynical and bursting with nervous energy, is completely on target. The growing anger he shows losing game after game to Fonsia reveals his rage at all of the losses suffered in his life. The emotion Templeman puts into Weller's ritualized dealing of the cards to begin each game speaks volumes about the man's temperament.

Oglesby's reserved Fonsia seems to open up gradually, yet not so gradually, if we note that the entire play takes place over the course of just two week. Oglesby shows how Fonsia suffers from the strain of maintaining the façade of a woman in control, prim, prudent, and not to be faulted for things that haven't worked out. Oglesby's expression of Fonsia's response when that façade shatters is stunning. For balance, a scene in which Fonsia coaxes the reluctant Weller to dance fills the stage with hope, both for these two souls and for all those living out the end of their days in isolation.

The set designed by Joseph Stanley is a good representation of a lower tier facility, one where staffing or shelving (or both) are insufficient to keep things in order, the disorder of the room perhaps a tip-off to the disordering of its occupants' minds. Sarah Bahr's costume design, appropriate without suggesting any particular sense of style, seems right on the mark. Kurt Jung's lighting creates shifts in the atmosphere, especially as the sun goes down outside of the sunroom.

Recurring choral performances and dance lessons from within the building, triggering predictable grumbling on Weller's part, as well as the sounds of weather events are ably provided by Katherine Horowitz's sound design. The only glitch, whether a function of sound design or some other element of staging, is that on the thrust stage, one of the two card players often has his or her back to those of us sitting in one of the side sections. Occasionally a bit of the actor's dialogue is lost–not so much as to lose the flow of the play, but enough to notice.

Weller's age is never stated, but he admits to having health issues that justify him being in a care facility. Fonsia, however, states that she is 71. In 1976 that was considered a lot older than it is now. Today, people that age most often live independent lives, many enjoying physical pursuits, and some still engaged in their careers. Fonsia is fully ambulatory. Her senses and mind seem to function just fine. It is doubtful a woman of 71 in her condition would be consigned to a nursing home–especially considering the cost, which is a topic that comes up in the play.

he Gerontological Society of America identifies the years 1979-1985–just after The Gin Game arrived–as the period when the nursing home model began to be questioned, and other models of senior housing started appearing. I saw The Gin Game when I was not yet 30, with its original Broadway stars, Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, and 71 sounded like quite an old age. Now, with 71 in my rearview mirror, it doesn't feel that way at all. I wonder, if D. L. Coburn were to write The Gin Game today, would he make Fonsia 15 years older, assign her a physical malady, or change the nursing home setting to a residence for active seniors?

Still, this point is a sidebar that takes nothing away from the vitality and ferocity of The Gin Game. The strength of the play remains, and given the stellar work by Terry Hempleman, Greta Oglesby, and Faye M. Price, Park Square has rolled out one of the don't miss shows of the new year.

The Gin Game runs through February 23, 2025, at Park Square Theatre, 20 West Seventh Place, Saint Paul MN. For tickets and information, please visit www.parksquaretheatre.org or call 651-291-7005.

Playwright: D.L. Coburn; Director: Faye M. Price; Assistant Director: Irvin Mason Jr.; Scenic Design: Joseph Stanley; Costume Design: Sarah Bahr; Lighting Design: Kurt Jung; Sound Design: Katherine Horowitz; Properties Design: Brandt Roberts; Movement Director: Maija García; Violence and Intimacy Director: Mason Tyer; Director of Production: Austin Stiers; Production Manager: Molly Heil; Technical Director: Erin Gustafson; Stage Manager: Miranda Shunkwiler; Assistant Stage Manager: Emma Swain.

Cast: Terry Hempleman (Weller Martin), Greta Oglesby (Fonsia Dorsey).