The Gin Game NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (207)
See it if great beloved actors. Amazing performances. She's 90!! The issues are timeless
Don't see it if if you don't like slower plays
See it if you enjoy plays that very much depend upon the expertise of the actors, as the writing itself is quite slight
Don't see it if you want fast action, and know that you might want to smack some sense into both characters for being their own worst enemies
See it if You want to see a play that winds up being a lot better than you think it will be and if you don't want to miss 2 legends performing.
Don't see it if you have no patience for conversation and subtle nuanced performances
See it if you want to see two legends together onstage.
Don't see it if you don't like wordy minimalistic shows
See it if You like the actors.
Don't see it if You don't like a slow pace.
See it if you want to see two classic stage actors in their later years kill it on stage together!
Don't see it if foul language bothers you; you're a racist; the thought of living in an old age home in the deep south is depressing to you.
See it if you are absolutely and appropriately amazed at the ability of these actors after their many many years on this earth. truly astounding.
Don't see it if you aren't impressed by what a 90 year old can do on a stage.
See it if you want to see two living legends doing what they do best. Great chemistry.
Don't see it if you're looking for thrills and chills. Despite some temper tantrums from Mr. Jones, this is a pretty quiet night at the theater.
Critic Reviews (40)
"Coburn's slim, deceptively lightweight duet is so hard to wrestle into submission that, in my experience, only the originals - the married team of Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn - turned the leisurely and schematic showcase into a profound meeting of wills and even of magic. The partnership of Cicely Tyson and James Earl Jones comes very close...Directed with leisurely sensitivity by Leonard Foglia, the production lets the balance of powers shift and flow."
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"The great pleasure in the revival of D.L. Coburn’s 1977 two-hander is watching the veteran performers work together with warmth and humor, not missing a beat...The play’s ending, with Weller’s burst of colossal rage and Fonsia’s retreat into loneliness, has always been unsatisfying. In this production, it’s just more so. But that frustration is easily trumped by the production’s great gift of allowing us to see Jones and Tyson perform together."
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"Lonesome and raw revival...Jones and Tyson, it will surprise no one, make for lively sparring partners...'The Gin Game,' it turns out, has little to do with cards. Rather, it examines the narratives we fabricate in order to tolerate the relentless sadness that piles up with passing decades."
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"The writing is exemplary, but the cast of two elevates it into the realm of poetry...Leonard Foglia as director has guided all these gifted artists through this two-hander, with the result that we leave the theatre enriched and fully satisfied. More than satisfied, aglow...I highly recommend you plan to visit this home for the aged soon. It will add years to your life."
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"Where this 'Gin Game' stumbles is in its second half, when Coburn's play takes a series of dark turns and the two characters begin mercilessly attacking one another...What should culminate in devastation is played instead as the vaudeville of a couple of eccentric codgers. The result feels a little too much like empty calories; a "Gin Game" that goes down exceedingly easy, but leaves you hungry for real substance."
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"Comedy may not all be in the timing, but a large part of it is and James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson give an acting master class in it in a delightful revival of 'The Gin Game...' In the hands of Jones and Tyson, they are simply lost, lonely souls for whom one ends up feeling great sympathy and kinship and wish you could see every Visitor's Day at that old-folks home."
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"'The Gin Game' suffers from an unusual problem: James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson share a tender chemistry...But D.L. Coburn's 1977 play doesn't have a sentimental word. And it's funny, certainly, but not romantic. Instead, 'The Gin Game' is a vicious look at the ways we turn on others when our losses pile up and our vulnerabilities are exposed...But as directed by Leonard Foglia, this production never turns into a strategic assault...The result is unsatisfying. Jones and Tyson are worth a better hand."
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"One thing you should probably not bet against is the little old lady onstage who seems to have supernatural luck with cards. Another is the two-person cast, James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson — actors still performing at the highest level despite their combined age of 174. You might wonder if there's something supernatural at work there, too...Handsome and beautifully acted revival."
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