Saturday, July 27, 2002

"On Golden Pond" is a sweet, understated play that says more than it seems to on the surface about love, the aging process and the generation gap.

The play's humor is unevenly sprinkled, yet it leaves you smiling.

The plot is simple. Norman and Ethel Thayer return for the umpteenth time to their summer home on Golden Pond, Maine. Chelsea, their divorced, childless daughter, who has been estranged from her dad for years, returns for his 80th birthday celebration, bringing along a new boyfriend. His 13-year-old son, Billy, brings a renewed sense of purpose to a depressed, ornery man on the verge of senility.

If it all sounds familiar because you've seen the movie -- which starred Henry and Jane Fonda and Katharine Hepburn-- that's no impediment to enjoying the play or this production.

Under Thomas G. Hostetter's equally understated direction, the actors, as a whole, effectively bring to life Ernest Thompson's well-drawn characters.

Fred Giles is, in a word, terrific as Norman -- evoking the diehard curmudgeon with subtlety and without exaggeration. Giles is able to separate Norman's true contrariness and petty bigotries and his sometimes manipulative, sometimes playful humor. He even seems younger in the last scene, in which attitude prevails over physical frailty.

In the performance I saw, Rita McGinty at moments appeared distracted in her portrayal as the affectionate, upbeat and sometimes sarcastic Ethel. But when she was on, McGinty played the kind of woman even a curmudgeon could love.

It's only during her long-overdue confrontation with her parents that Chelsea is given much to do by the playwright, and Beth McIntosh does fine there. She's also delightful in the reminiscences about summer camp.

Ed Costik sets the right tone as the mailman, who drowns his helpless love for Chelsea in laughter and biscuits. One wishes he had more moments onstage.

The same can be said for Mike Knarr, who invests Chelsea's boyfriend with complexity. He's a straightforward guy who can deflect Norman's head games, be intimidated on the outside and confident within.

This might be Billy Kametz's Theatre Harrisburg debut, but he had the best possible preparation for the role of young Billy -- he played the part earlier this year at Hershey Area Playhouse. Besides having the kind of looks that would make the "chick cruising" of the character successful in real life, Billy conveys the alternating sullenness and enthusiasm of teens naturally.