Jerry has been seen on the MHRTC stage as Senator Hedges in Born Yesterday, Uncle Silas in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in Our Town as Dr. Gibbs, as James Thurber in A Thurber Carnival , and as Westcott in The Man Who Came to Dinner. He has also appeared in MHRTC Readers Theatre productions of Marvin's Room, Shadowlands , and Twelve Angry Men. During the summer of 2002 he was in the ensemble of the Radio Theatre for the Summer American Theatre Festival. He also appeared as Arnold Burns in the Firehouse Theare production of A Thousand Clowns. Mr. Lesch recently retired from 30 years of teaching as head of the drama department of Parkrose High School. Currently he is on the Board of Mt. Hood Repertory Theatre Company.

"I had the pleasure of first seeing The Gin Game as a television special with its original stars, Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. The one word that I can think of that described that performance was mesmerizing. When I went to New York the following year I was able to see E. G. Marshall and Maureen Stapleton perform those same roles on the Broadway stage. And last year we were all treated to the reunion of Rob and Laura Petrie from The Dick Van Dyke Show: Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore in the roles of Weller Martin and Fonsia Dorsey. When the Readers Theatre committee selected "And The Winner Is..." as its theme, I knew that The Gin Game had to be one of the productions.

"D. L. Coburn's Pulitzer Prize winning play appealed to me on several levels. It's the story of two people who reside at a retirement home. My mother just spent the last six months in an assisted living facility, so I have seen people similar to Weller and Fonsia. And who hasn't had an uncle, or aunt, who liked to play gin rummy and liked even more to win! However, Weller and Fonsia seem somewhat lost in this retirement facility. The game of gin rummy offers them the opportunity to make contact with one another. Yet these two people seem to be so caught up in their own personal demons that they are not able to do so. Still, I find The Gin Game a story of communication, friendship, and love. And the need for people to connect to one another, if only for a moment.

"I haven't directed anything since retiring as the Drama Director at Parkrose High School where I taught for 30 years. After directing 60 plus plays and musicals I wanted a break. Working with Mt. Hood Repertory Theatre Company has given me the opportunity to return to acting again. And now, after a three year hiatus, return to directing as well. However, I was worried if I would still be able to do this. So, like all good directors, I cast the very best possible actors: Artistic Director Tobias Andersen and Associate Artistic Director Trish Egan. I figured they're so good I wouldn't have to do anything except sit back, relax and enjoy their performances. I hope you do the same."

About The Playwright

D. L. Coburn was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1938. He came to prominence in 1977 with The Gin Game, which was his first play. The Gin Game ran on Broadway for 516 performances and subsequently toured the nation with its original cast of Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy to sold-out houses in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and a half-dozen other cities before touring in England and Russia. It has since had productions in virtually every country of the western world, including France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania, Israel, Hungary, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and South Africa, as well as heralded productions in Australia, Japan and China. In 1978 the play garnered four Tony nominations and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Plays Mr. Coburn has written since The Gin Game include Bluewater Cottage (1979), Guy (1983), Noble Adjustment (1985), Return to Blue Fin (1991), Fear of Darkness (1995), Firebrand (1997) and The Cause (1998). Additionally, he has written television pilots for CBS and ABC and several screenplays, including Flights of Angels (1987), A Virgin Year (1991) and Legal Access (1994).

Mr. Coburn lives with his wife, Marsha, in Dallas, Texas. He has two grown children: Donn, who is with The Business of Writing, in Dallas, and Kimberly, who is with Wheat First Securities in Richmond, Virginia. He has one grandchild, Neil, who is 11 years old.

"When the play originated in my mind, it was a conflict between a man and a woman. It was not set in an old age home. I saw certain conflicts that I wanted to capture, and I felt that the simplicity of two people and a card game could express a great deal. The card game is a metaphor for fate and how the events of life are dealt to us. We have to play them as they come our way.

"I can't really recall the precise time when the characters became older. But it did raise the stakes, and of course it also altered the nature of the work. We can't even conceive of it as taking place at any other place or with people of any other age. That's one of those fortunate things that you find in the process of writing."

Sources:
PBS' Hollywood Presents Series
D.L. Coburn's Official Gin Game Home Page