CurtainUp
CurtainUp

The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings
www.curtainup.com



HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE

SEARCH

ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP

REVIEWS

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings


LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us

A CurtainUp Los Angeles Review
On Golden Pond


Well, that's what happens if you live long enough. You end up being old. It's one of the disadvantages of a long life. I still prefer it to the alternative.— Ethel


(Photo: )
Best known for the 1981 movie version with Katherine Hepburn and the Fondas, Jane and Henry, or the live TV version with Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, this venerable play by Ernest Thompson flaunts its colors bravely at Burbank's Colony Theatre, under the astute direction of Cameron Watson. The 30-year-old play is gentle and darkly humorous but strikes a chilling chord as we watch this charmer's self-aware terror at the descent into oblivion.

No small amount of credit goes to 80-year-old Hal Linden in the central role of cantankerous articulate 79-year-old Norman Thayer. Thayer is in the early stages of memory loss but Linden's forceful charm makes clear why his favorite word for himself is "fascinating."

br>
Bravely playing his wife Ethel is lovely Christina Pickles who feels that closing hand as surely as Norman. She's assertive and splendid. One point playwright Thompson never misses is the couple's lasting love for each other. Forty-eight years of marriage haven't dimmed what is less a spark than a quarrelsome glow. "Oh, thank God, I love you so much!" Christina cries when Norman stubbornly rallies from a collapse. "Want to dance? Or would you rather just suck face?" he teases towards the end, aping young Billy's slang.

Less idyllic is Norman's relationship with their 42-year-old daughter Chelsea (Monette Magrath). Always leery of her father, Chelsea manages to make peace in a thinly-written scene in the second act. Nevertheless, she has a lot of her father's articulate sarcasm and Thompson gives her some zingers.

Norman is on better terms with her boyfriend's son, 13-year-old Billy (Nicholas Podany) who, after a monrh's stay, has taken to big books and morning fishing. His father Bill (Jonathan Stewart), who Chelsea married because she felt sorry for him, has one fierce scene with Norman in which he stands up for himself. However, he's the sort of man who's ultimately boring and Chelsea's beginning to know it. Maybe Billy will make up for it.

A character who nods in for no discernible reason except a few laughs is Charley, the postman (Jerry Kernion). His own laugh, sly and booming, is a signature and the thing that will be memorable about him.

The set design by John Iacovelli with property design and set dressing by MacAndME is as warm and enveloping as everyone's nostalgic memory of home which may be why this creaky play, despite its flaws, has survived. Thompson's caustic ear for humor and the compassionate courage he gives his characters are a testimonial for all the aging Norman Thayers out there.

On Golden Pond
Playwright: Ernest Thompson
Director: Cameron Watson
Cast: Norman (Hal Linden), Ethel (Christina Pickles), Charlie (Jerry Kernion), Chelsea (Monette Magrath), Billy Ray (Nicholas Podany), Bill Ray (Jonathan Stewart).
Scenic Design: John Iacovelli
Lighting Design: Jared A Sayeg
Properties Design & Set Dressing: MacAndME
Costume Design: Terri A Lewis
Sound Design: Rebecca Kessin
Production Stage Manager: Alexander Berger
Dates: July 30-August 28, 2011.
Where: Colony Theatre, 555 N. 3rd St., Burbank. Reservations: (818) 558-7000.
Reviewed by Laura Hitchcock on July 30, 2011.
Subscribe to our FREE email updates with a note from editor Elyse Sommer about additions to the website -- with main page hot links to the latest features posted at our numerous locations. To subscribe, E-mail: esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.com
put SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message -- if you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to CurtainUp and from what part of the country.

Visit Curtainup's Blog Annex
For a feed to reviews and features as they are posted add http://curtainupnewlinks.blogspot.com to your reader
Curtainup at Facebook . . . Curtainup at Twitter


REVIEW FEEDBACK
Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
  • I agree with the review of On Golden Pond
  • I disagree with the review of On Golden Pond
  • The review made me eager to see On Golden Pond
Click on the address link E-mail: esommer@curtainup.com
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V):

Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email. . .also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review.

In the Heights
In the Heights


broadwaynewyork.com


amazon



©Copyright 2011, Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com