JoBeth Williams, Joe Spano talk to the News-Press about acting in ‘The Gin Game’
JoBeth Williams and Joe Spano star in “The Gin Game,” now on stage through April 3 at The Rubicon Theatre in Ventura. Mr. Spano is known for TV shows such as “NCIS” and “Hill Street Blues,” and Ms. Williams’ movies have varied from “The Big Chill” to the “Poltergeist” movies.
JoBeth Williams was a young actress when she saw an Oscar-winning couple, Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, star in “The Gin Game” on a New York stage.
“They were, of course, brilliant,” said Ms. Williams, an Oscar nominee who has acted in everything from the “Poltergeist” movies to “The Big Chill” and “Kramer vs. Kramer.” “I was very taken by the play.
“From the beginning of the play, I assumed it was a comedy. There’s some funny stuff in it definitely,” she told the News-Press by phone from her Los Angeles home. “Ultimately, it’s not a comedy. It’s about two people who are lonely, who need each other. But their personalities don’t fit (with each other). They push each other’s buttons.
“It’s a fascinating relationship,” Ms. Williams said. “Being an older person now myself, I identify with the fear of being alone in later life when you have health issues and when you’re facing your own mortality.”
NCIS Special Agent Alden Parker (Gary Cole) and FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell (Joe Spano) discuss a case on “NCIS.” Mr. Spano has played the recurring character throughout the series’ 19 seasons.
Ms. Williams and fellow movie and TV star Joe Spano are starring in “The Gin Game,” a two-person play in which their characters are deciding when to show their cards, literally and metaphorically. The play opened Saturday night at the Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura, where it will continue through April 3.
The Ventura shows mark the launch of a national tour.
Known for shows such as CBS’ “NCIS” and NBC’s “Hill Street Blues,” Mr. Spano plays Weller Martin, an irascible retired businessman. The Emmy winner plays a lonely game of solitaire at the nursing home where he has been a longtime resident.
When he sees newcomer Fonsia Dorsey (played by Oscar nominee JoBeth Williams) in a private moment of grief on the porch, he talks her into a game of gin rummy. The two strike up a friendship as they share stories about the lives they led in the outside world.
But Fonsia becomes frustrated when Weller wins, and the question is whether these characters will form a connection or fight a battle (or both).
“It becomes a power struggle over the game,” Ms. Williams said.
“The Gin Game” is directed by Jenny Sullivan. In Santa Barbara, she directed Ensemble Theatre Company’s recent production of “Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical.”
Ms. Williams said “The Gin Game” posed a logistical challenge for her and Mr. Spano.
“We’re playing card games during every scene. You have to coordinate the dialogue with the playing of the game,” she said. “It’s complex and very challenging. We’re having fun with it.”
She paused. “It’s a workout for us!”
JoBeth Williams and Joe Spano star in “The Gin Game.”
Ms. Williams described her character, Fonsia, as a divorced, Christian mother who probably didn’t have a lot of education but is intelligent. She added Fonsia has a quick mind that makes her great at cards.
“This character really wants to form a connection with the man, Weller, in this piece,” Ms. Williams said. “She doesn’t want to be alone.”
Mr. Spano told the News-Press he was intrigued by Weller and seeing where the character and he converge. “I’m of a certain age, and so is this character. There are specific fears at this age.”
The Los Angeles actor said Weller ended up at the nursing home after having had a heart attack and is on a fixed income, like others at the nursing home.
“They’re wonderful people,” Mr. Spano said about Weller and Fonsia.
He said he likes his character’s energy and humor. “I like everything about him, even his shortcomings because they are true. There’s a truth about him in his situation, although physically and financially, I don’t have the same problems he has. But there’s still that consciousness of death when one gets closer to it that can be both enlightening and terrifying.
“His attempts to deal with those things are wonderfully brave and partially misguided” much of the time, Mr. Spano said.
When he isn’t on stage, Mr. Spano is a familiar face on television, especially on “NCIS.” He’s in his 19th season in his recurring role as FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell.
“I like him,” Mr. Spano said. “As actors, you get to do things you wouldn’t do in real life.
“What I like about the show is they’ve allowed me to change the character over the course of 19 years. That’s a joy,” Mr. Spano said.
He said the “NCIS” producers have allowed him to take Tobias to different, even painful, places, which have given him something new to do with the character.
“He has a lot of problems, a lot of tragedy, but he’s managed to keep on truckin’,” Mr. Spano said. “I like that about him.”
He said he has enjoyed working with Mark Harmon, who has starred as Special Agent Jethro Gibbs. (Mr. Harmon, one of the series’ executive producers, decided to spend less time in the role this season after working on “NCIS” for 19 years.)
Mr. Spano and Mr. Harmon have known each other since Mr. Spano starred on “Hill Street Blues” and Mr. Harmon was in the cast of the NBC medical drama “St. Elsewhere.” Both were filmed at the former CBS Studio Center in Studio City.
On “NCIS,” “Mark always welcomes guest stars,” Mr. Spano said. “He always makes sure they feel good about what they’re doing on every level. We’ll be rehearsing a scene, and he’ll say, ‘Does that feel right to you? Do you need anything from me in that scene?’ I can’t tell you how helpful and loving that behavior is.”
Mr. Spano has also known Ms. Williams for a long time, and both actors told the News-Press they love working with each other. They also noted that after working hard during rehearsals for “The Gin Game,” they start clowning around a bit.
“Sometimes we get tired later in the evening. We’re not kids anymore,” Ms. Williams said. “We get silly and giddy in rehearsals. One or another of us starts laughing for no reason, and it breaks the tension. It’s a lot of lines.”
email: dmason@newspress.com
FYI
The Rubicon Theatre is performing “The Gin Game” now through April 3 at its theater, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. (You’ll enter the theater from Laurel Street.) Curtain rises at 2 and 7 p.m. Wednesdays, 7 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets cost $30 to $79.50. To purchase, go to rubicontheatre.org or call the box office at 805-667-2900.
