Dramas – stories – are all around us. Lives there a soul so dead that they've never sat waiting for their car to be serviced or waiting for a bus, looked around and thought Hmmm…interesting looking person. I wonder what his story is? There was once a television series about New York City whose tag line was, "There are eight million stories in the naked city…."
The next time you drive past a nursing home or retirement residence, think about all the stories in there. You certainly will if you go see "Gin Game" at St. Louis Actors' Studio. Two residents of the Bentley Home for Seniors meet. Weller Martin (Peter Mayer) sits on a small porch, seemingly mostly unused (probably because it's clearly not wheelchair-accessible). He's playing solitaire when Fonsia Dorsey (Linda Kennedy) comes out, weeping vigorously. After a while, he tries to strike up a conversation. When that proves awkward, Martin, who ought to be wearing a t-shirt that says IRASCIBLE on it, suggests they play a little gin.
Fonsia turns out to be a bit of a chatterbox. Finally, she says she thinks she remembers playing gin rummy years ago, and Weller's instructions on how to play sort of ring a bell with her. Perhaps at this point, gentle reader, that lovely old quote from Damon Runyon begins to run through your head:
…this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of this brand-new deck of cards and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, do not accept this bet, because as sure as you stand there, you're going to wind up with an ear full of cider.
Do not think that the genteel Fonsia Dorsey is a card shark. Heaven forfend. But Weller is happy to have found someone to play cards with. As the days progress, his clothing goes from a shabby bathrobe to nicer things from his days when he was a successful businessman, a sign he's perking up.
The combination of Linda Kennedy and Peter Mayer, two veterans of the local stage is an excellent one. Both are under the exquisite control so perfect for such a meeting. Mayer is gruff and scratchy but trying to be civil, even polite, quite a lot for him, one feels. But surely in his earlier life he would have been a difficult person to work for. Kennedy is so poised one is never sure if the chattering is just loneliness coming out of her or a ploy to make Mayer pay attention. She's carefully dressed and put together, her movements as much a part of her character as her words.
Director John Contini has created quite a duet with these two. Cristie Johnston's set design even rains, and Carla Landis Evans was responsible for the clothing so marking the characters. Good lighting from Dalton Robinson, too.
Despite the setting and the age of the characters, don't expect a snoozer on this one. This kind of gambling can become a habit.
Gin Game
through December 20
St. Louis Actors' Studio
The Gaslight Theater
369 N. Boyle Ave