Peninsula Community Theatre presents a Pleasurable On Golden Pond

Theatre review: Le'Royce E. Bratsveen

February 2009

I caught the Sunday matinee of Peninsula Community Theatre’s latest production of  “On Golden Pond”  written by Ernest Thompson and found myself “pondering” on a couple of things, as I left the theatre.  I had never read this play and the only frame of reference that I had, was based on the film version with the late greats Katherine Hepburn and Henry Fonda.  I remembered a very serious piece of work, full of tension and angst, with the inevitable climatic confrontation.  Anyone who knows me, will tell you how much I absolutely love a good drama. So, imagine my confusion as I found myself spending the majority of the time reviewing this show, laughing … yes, laughing … out loud even! Under the clever direction of Randi Green, I found myself completely and pleasantly surprised to see this play done with a more comedic lean.  For all its original seriousness, I really enjoyed seeing a softer side of this family. All the original problems and issues are still there but this time there are plenty of laughs to be found along with the really warm moments.

Speaking of warm that is the best way to describe the set design of the show.  One of the things that I absolutely love about going to PCT is their set design. For as many shows that I have watched there, I am always fascinated with what they do with their space.  This team and this design did not disappoint. The set design and construction was by John Wilt. The Set Dressing credit belongs to Bob Burdett and the Set Artists were comprised of: Ellen Eames, Sandy Brockman, BetteBelle Lipke, Eileen Engle, and Heidi Bogan.  They ALL collectively do an awesome job creating the quaint interior of a log cabin, dressed with all the little accouterments of a well lived in space, full of a lifetime of memories. The devil is always in the details and this design team delivers!  

There's little that happens in “On Golden Pond” that isn't somewhat predictable from the start, especially given its iconic stature, however, since the director has opted to take this version of the story in a “different” direction, the audience is given a “lighter” version of this story. Norman Thayer (Marvin Sylvest), is, the cranky 80-year-old retired professor, making his annual pilgrimage with his wife Ethel (Frances Topping) to their New England summer cottage. These two veteran actors delivered performances that were warm, sweet, and charming. Their pairing and portrayal resonated as the couple who are filled with a lifetime of love and understanding.  Their comedic timing and banter was reminiscent of the old husband and wife comedy teams of yesteryear.

While Norman spend a great bit of his time  anticipating dying and making  a nominal effort at finding a  job, in the classified ads, much to Ethel's chagrin, they are visited by the local mailman, Charlie (David Adams), who stops by and reminisces about the Thayer's daughter, Chelsea, whom he used to date. Mr. Adams does a wonderful job in this role and has firmly established himself in the local area, as a wonderful character actor. With this character, he brings the eternally youthful Charlie to life complete with a heavy Maine accent. Although the author doesn’t give Charlie much to do, Mr. Adams makes his stage time memorable.

Life, “On Golden Pond”, seems to be pretty uneventful until Norman and Ethel’s solitude is interrupted by the arrival of their daughter Chelsea (Holly Johnson) who comes to visit with her fiancé Bill (Ben Jenkins) and (surprise) his son Billy, (Gray Davenport). Ms. Johnson delivers a thoughtful performance as Chelsea and although I personally missed the emotionally charged confrontation from the original, she managed to play her angst with her parental relationships, and her awkwardness with venturing into a second marriage with skill and expertise.  Ben Jenkins delivers a solid turn as the “bear-nervous” Bill, but I felt that just as I was getting to know him, he was gone. Gray Davenport, impresses as the super cool Billy, and it’s through his time with Norman that we see Norman develop his will to live. Reading the program I was immediately impressed at the level of performance from Mr. Davenport given how young he is.

Reading the Director’s Notes in the program, the last thing that I pondered on was the fact that Mr. Thompson wrote this thought provoking play at the tender age of twenty-eight. He is quoted as saying, “We’ve all had complicated relationships with our parents or children or spouses. And if we’re smart, we’ve had our sense of humor to get us through”.

I think that Ms. Randi Greene does an excellent job of delivering the authors vision.

On Golden Pond last weekend is THIS WEEKEND with shows on Friday and Saturday at 8PM and a Sunday matinee at 2:30PM  Call 757-595-5728 for ticket information or visit www.pctlive.org