Deal with drama at ‘Gin Game’

A good hand will be dealt when the Tillamook Association for the Performing Arts presents “The Gin Game,” opening this Friday, June 16.

This 1978 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, written by D.L. Coburn and directed by Robert Buckingham, tells the story of two unlikely outcasts that forge a new friendship rather late in life.

Doral Vance plays Fonsia Dorsey, a new resident at the Bentley Nursing Home, who meets longtime resident and loner Weller Martin, played by Rodney Dahl. Martin helps Dorsey work out the newbie jitters by teaching her how to play gin rummy. Dorsey instantly has a case of beginners’ luck, which eats away at poor Martin. This begins a friendship formed by the game and through discussions of their families, money, society and the outside world. They are both surprised to find themselves making a new friend when old patterns of self-destructive behavior creep back in.

This poignant story portrays Martin and Dorsey’s fight against loneliness, loss and each other while playing gin rummy and finds it is the only thing that helps counter a lifetime of defeats. Their story is about friendship and love but also tension, competitiveness and ultimately the failure to keep oneself from falling into the same old patterns that drove their loved ones away in the first place.

The play contains adult language, so viewer discretion is advised.

“The Gin Game, presented in partnership with and Neat Art Studio of Netarts, will from Friday, June 16, through Saturday, July 1, with performances at 7 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 pm matinées on Sundays

All performances will take place at the Barn Community Playhouse, located at 1204 Ivy Avenue. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to tillamooktheater.com or call 503-812-0275.