In life, as in cards, each round of the game pronounces the winners and losers. To open the 2024-25 season, Bristol Riverside Theatre (BRT) presents an intimate production of The Gin Game, running September 10 to 29. Donald L. Coburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, sweetly chaotic encounter of one expert card player and one novice leads to unexpected emotional turmoil and beginner’s luck. Coburn’s serendipitous meeting of two cathartic souls plays for BRT audiences this fall at The Regency Room (190 Mifflin Street, Bristol, PA), BRT’s offsite location during ongoing mainstage renovations. Limited tickets are available in the 150-seat pop-up theatre for this production directed by Jon Marans. The Gin Game runs 90 minutes with an intermission.
In the rear sun porch of the Bentley Nursing Home, among forgotten furniture and dusty piles of paperwork, Fonsia (Zuhairah McGill) and Weller (Keith Baker) connect as they recount their life journeys. In what begins as a simple game of gin, Weller discovers that he may not have the upper hand he thinks he does. As he teaches his challenger the rules of the game, his frustration with the pace of the card game and the ease with which Fonsia beats him again and again (and again) is revealed. This is a character study of long lives, longing for second chances, and tightly held notions of what it means to ‘win’ and ‘lose’ in life and relationships. Full of humor and compassion, the fierce competition divides the table into a battlefield of emotions. With its fiery explosions of passionate exclamation and the opponents’ countless attempts to expose one another’s weaknesses, the production presents two tour de force performances. The metaphors of life play out, and the game escalates into all-out war, exposing more than winners and losers in this powerful and darkly funny production.
“We are taking full advantage of the intimacy of our temporary location with The Gin Game. Keith Baker and Zuhairah McGill are two of the area’s finest actors, and this is a chance to see them up close and personal,” said BRT’s Amy Kaissar. “Audiences will be no more than five rows away, so they’ll see every twitch and movement in these nuanced performances. It’s the close-ups of Netflix with the excitement of live theatre.”
BRT’s production features New York native, award-winning actress, and director Zuhairah McGill, the Founder & Artistic Director of First World Theatre (Philadelphia, PA). McGill most recently directed Arden Theatre’s production of Ladysitting and performs in her first BRT production as Fonsia this fall. She is the recipient of the 2023 Lunt-Fontanne Award and has performed regionally at venues including Theatre Horizon (Norristown, PA/Sandblasted), Arden Theatre (Philadelphia, PA/Radio Golf, Gem of the Ocean), and Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater (Washington, D.C./Sojourner), and Off-Broadway at New Federal Theatre (New York, NY/Gutta Beautiful, Most Dangerous Man in America), inside the Negro Ensemble Company (New York, NY/First Breeze of Summer), and at Nuyorican Poets Café (New York, NY/Julius Caesar Set in Africa). McGill is a five-time Barrymore Nominee and recipient of the Barrymore Insight Award, The DC Excellence in Black Theatre Award (three-time recipient), and The Black Arts for Social Change Award.
Audiences will be delighted to see Keith Baker, former BRT Artistic Director, return for this master class in exceptional acting. Baker trained under Sanford Meisner and Martha Graham at the Neighborhood Playhouse, under John Houseman and Michael Langham at Julliard, and in advanced music studies at the =University of Freiberg. Baker directed over 90 productions of plays and musicals for BRT, among them Gypsy (starring Tovah Feldshuh), The Pirates of Penzance, Dear World (nominated for three Barrymore Awards), Chicago (nominated for six Barrymore Awards), The Balkan Women (winner of the Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play), The Dresser (Barrymore Award nominated for Outstanding Direction of a Play), Pride & Prejudice, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Lost in Yonkers (nominated for two Barrymore Awards), Ragtime (nominated for nine Barrymore Awards), Rumors, Man of La Mancha, Working: a Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Producers, The Sunshine Boys, and Next to Normal. His production of Jesus Christ Superstar won the Philadelphia Critics Association Award for Best Director. Eleven-time nominee and two-time recipient of the Carbonell Awards for Best Actor, Keith held the position of artistic director at BRT for 28 years. Most recently, he directed the theatre’s 2023-24 season production of Cabaret. To support its accomplished cast, The Gin Game’s multitalented production team includes Jason Simms (Scenic Design), Conor Mulligan (Lighting Design), Linda Bee Stockton (Costume Design), and Ryk Lewis (Sound Design). Stockton and Lewis also worked on BRT’s spring production of Big: The Musical.
TICKETS
BRT’s productions offer special pre- and post-show engagements, included with the ticket price, for guests to create a special night out. The September 12 opening night performance is followed by a reception where patrons can revel over the night’s show. BRT’s September 13 ‘Friday Festival’ features drinks courtesy of Pat Deon Beverages and Dad’s Hat and pasta provided by Cesare’s Ristorante. ‘Wine Down’ midweek on September 18 with complimentary wine and desserts, and enjoy ‘Thirsty Thursday’ on September 26 with beer and snacks courtesy of Broad Street Brewing, Dog & Bull Brew & Music House, Naked Brewing Company, and Philly Style Soft Pretzel. Tickets for The Gin Game are available online and by phone at 215-785-0100. More information, including a season production schedule, is available at brtstage.org.
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