Steve On Broadway (SOB)

On Golden Pond (The SOB Review) - Main Hall, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Saint Paul, MN

On Golden Pond (The SOB Review) - Main Hall, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Saint Paul, MN

*** (out of ****)

There's no denying the lasting appeal of Ernest Thompson's On Golden Pond, a modest drama from 1979 on aging and the prospect of death, coupled with a family's reconciliation. There's also no denying the talent offered by two of television's all-time favorite prime-time parents Tom Bosley and Michael Learned in the lead roles of Norman and Ethel Thayer. Both expertly wring out of their characters the emotions that run parallel with growing old and the realization that life really isn't very long.

But unfortunately, the Leonard Foglia-helmed revival -- having just begun the first leg of its national tour in Saint Paul -- feels incredibly tiny on the stage. Perhaps it's just the venue -- the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts' Main Hall is downright cavernous. But the simple nature of the story itself never packs the emotional wallop you're expecting it to have.

At the heart of the drama is Norman Thayer's estranged relationship with his 42 year old daughter Chelsea, stridently played by a very stiff Kate Levy. When Chelsea and her new boyfriend Bill (Evan Pappas) leave his son Billy (understudy Dylan Perlman) with Norman and Ethel so they can spend a month alone in Europe, Norman turns from an old curmudgeon into hipster during intermission. There's never any explanation for Norman's metamorphosis or why young Billy has so easily bonded with the man who's 67 years his senior. It's as if significant scenes were ripped from the production in the interest of moving the story along in a quick two hours.

When Chelsea returns as a married woman, she's essentially rebuffed by a father who admits to never liking her. Yet, almost inexplicably, the new-improved Norman tells Chelsea in the final scene -- via telephone -- that he loves her. While the subtext is clearly that young Billy has had a profound impact on Norman's outlook on life, we never get to experience it. And that's probably the biggest deficiency in this otherwise pleasant little show.

Clearly, it's a deficiency that the very appreciative audience was more than happy to overlook, as evidenced by their rousing standing ovation at the end. But what could have been a more intimate and dramatic examination of how even old dogs can learn new tricks and appreciate new ways of looking at life, was instead completely left to the imagination.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

On Golden Pond's tour dates include:
St. Paul, MN -- Now-September 2, 2006 (Main Hall, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts)
San Antonio, TX -- September 12-17, 2006 (Majestic Theatre)
Nashville, TN -- September 19-24, 2006 (Andrew Jackson Hall, Tennesse Performing Arts Center)
Philadelphia, PA -- October 31-November 5, 2006 (Merriam Theater)
Birmingham, AL -- November 28-December 3, 2006 (BJCC-Concert Hall)
Tampa, FL December 5-10, 2006 (Carol Morsani Hall, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center)
Salt Lake City, UT -- January 16-21, 2007 (Kingsbury Hall)

Click here for On Golden Pond ticketing for St. Paul.
Related Stories:
Cast Set to Sail On Golden Pond Tour (July 19, 2006)

Labels: Minneapolis/St. Paul, On Golden Pond, Play, Revival, The SOB Review, Touring Production

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Thursday, August 31, 2006