Little Theatre of Owatonna has announced the cast for its spring production of The Gin Game by D.L. Coburn that premiered at American Theater Arts in Hollywood in September 1976, directed by Kip Niven. It was Coburn’s first play, and the theater’s first production. The play won the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The Gin Game uses a card game as a metaphor for life. Weller Martin is playing solitaire on the porch of a seedy nursing home. Enter Fonsia Dorsey, a prim, self-righteous lady. They discover they both dislike the home and enjoy gin rummy, so they begin to play and to reveal intimate details of their lives. Fonsia wins every time, and their secrets become weapons used against one another. Weller longs for a victory to counter a lifetime of defeats, but it doesn’t happen. He leaves the stage a broken man, and Fonsia realizes her self-righteous rigidity has led to an embittered, lonely, old age.

Jeffrey Jackson is the director with Kathy Purdie as the technical director.

The cast includes Kristin Sellentine as Fonsia Dorsey and Bill Wood as Weller Martin.

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. April 23rd, 24th, 30th, and May 1st, with matinee performances at 2 p.m. on April 25th and May 2nd.

Online tickets will be available for season members April 3rd, and the public on April 10th. Our Remote Box Office at Tri M Graphics will be open April 3rd for members and April 10th for the public. The LTO Box Office opens April 19th. Adult ticket price is $17; student ticket price is $14.  An at home streaming version will be available, please watch our website and social media for information.

The Gin Game is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.