Another Shot Of ‘Gin’ Welches Will Again Perform ‘The Gin Game’ - 15 Years Later

Back in 1983, when Bob and Joan Welch first performed “The Gin Game” at Interplayers Ensemble, they had to spend two hours in makeup to convert themselves into elderly nursing home residents.

Now, 15 years later, makeup takes no time at all.

“A shower and we’re on,” said Bob Welch with a laugh. “We’re at the right age for it now.”

Well, almost. They’re not divulging their ages without a court order, but they are certainly closer to the ages of the play’s only characters, Fonsia Dorsey and Weller Martin.

D.L. Coburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play takes place at a card table, where these two vastly different characters look back at their lives and attempt to forge a relationship. Through all of this, they play game after game of gin rummy.

The Welches have another excellent reason for reviving the play: They love it. With 15 more years of living under their belts, they have found even more meaning in it.

“We’ve had experiences with our parents, and with what they have gone through at this stage of life, that we didn’t have back then,” said Welch. “There are things about this play that we understand better this time around.”

“The Gin Game” itself has had an interesting history. D.L. Coburn, a Baltimore businessman, had never written a play before this one hit it big on Broadway in 1977. It featured virtuoso performances by Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn. It ran for nearly two years, won the Pulitzer for drama, and embarked on a big national tour.

Last year, it was revived on Broadway with Julie Harris and Charles Durning. A major national tour is now in the works. For more than 20 years, it has been a staple of regional and amateur theaters, partly because it requires only two actors and a minimal set.

Yet that doesn’t mean it’s an easy play for the actors. Not only do they have to live the emotional lives of the characters, but they have to play gin through it all.

“There are 14 gin games, and to keep them all straight is a real problem,” said Welch.

The Welches are the founders and co-artistic directors of Interplayers. Interplayers was only in its second year the first time they did “The Gin Game.” They have appeared in many shows since, yet the most recent was “The Cocktail Hour” back in 1995. That’s why they wanted to get back on stage together again.

“We are really actors, and even though we have done this other side-trip, in developing Interplayers, we love to act,” said Joan Welch. “I feel like acting is what we should be doing.”

Michael Weaver is the director.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: ON STAGE “The Gin Game” will be staged at Interplayers Ensemble, 174 S. Howard, with a discount preview on Friday and the opening Saturday for its regular run through Feb. 21. Curtain time is 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 2 p.m. matinees on Jan. 31, Feb. 4 and Feb. 7. Friday preview performance is $11.50 and $12.95; matinees are $13.25, and all other performances are $14.35 and $16.60. Call 455-PLAY for tickets and reservations.