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| Joe Silver, Anita Zijdemans Boudreau, Patti Speight, and Jason Weed. |
By Tina Arth
Theatre in the Grove closes its 2015-16 season with Ernest
Thompson’s On Golden Pond, a
beautiful love story thinly disguised as a terribly funny take on dysfunctional
families. It’s an inspired choice for a community theater – small cast,
incredibly meaty roles, diverse age range, and a story that completely ensnares
the audience from the opening of Act I to the end of Act II. For two
(blissfully air-conditioned) hours Friday night, the audience was transported
to the Thayer family’s summer home on Maine’s Golden Pond. We were given an
extended peek into the world of aging fathers, disaffected daughters, alienated
teens, buttoned-down boyfriends, and a subtle but intense love affair between
two old marrieds nearing the end of their time together. The script is smart,
witty, and surprisingly unpredictable in places; at the end, we have learned no
Great Truths, but we have seen how many paths can lead to family
reconciliation.
The story is much like that of the enormously popular 1981
film. Norman and Ethel Thayer (Joe Silver and Anita Zijdemans Boudreau) arrive
at their isolated summer home (perhaps for the last time – Norman is turning
80) in the Maine woods. Norman seems to be suffering from the early stages of
dementia, but while his memory may be fading, his tongue is as sharp as
ever. Ethel’s energy and cheer are
heavily taxed by Norman’s quirks, but she soldiers on and manages to maintain
her sense of humor and her wonder at the beauty of Golden Pond. The arrival of
their divorced, childless middle-aged daughter Chelsea (Patti Speight), her
boyfriend Bill (Jason Weed), and Billy Jr. (Sam Dennis) is initially
disruptive, but when Chelsea and Bill take off for a month in Europe, leaving
Billy with the Thayers, Norman’s world quickly changes. Norman and Billy
quickly bond, each finding in the other something that they had been missing –
the change in Norman is so dramatic that Ethel remarks, “We should have rented
a 13-year-old boy years ago!” When Chelsea and Bill return (now married),
Norman and his daughter are finally able to reconcile after years of conflict.
While the story arc seems to follow the turbulence between
Chelsea and Norman, it is the power of Ethel and Norman’s relationship that
really tells the tale. Joe Silver creates an utterly authentic picture of an
intellectually powerful man rejecting the inevitable losses of aging. His
timing and deadpan delivery of a series of one-liners fuel the comic element of
the play, but he also captures his character’s essential vulnerability – the
one scene where he truly lets his guard down and shares his limitless love for
Ethel is utterly moving. Anita Zijdemans
Boudreau works in perfect tandem with Silver, creating a kind of steel-cored
angel to prop up her cranky and disintegrating spouse. Her sense of wonder at
the beauty of their environment shows how she replenishes her spirit, and in
one key scene with Speight she also displays sparks of genuine anger that round
out her persona.
Speight’s “Chelsea” is a careful balance between bitterness,
whining, and flashes of determination as she creates a forty-something woman
finally ready to reinvent not only her relationship with her father, but her
whole approach to life. Sam Dennis is
perfectly cast as “Billy” – he is snotty, snarky, and smart enough to stand up
to Norman, but still needy – in other words, a classic 13-year-old boy on
teetering on the edge between childhood and manhood.
Director Gavin Knittle has brought together a skilled group
of actors with just the right chemistry to bring life to a tale of love, loss,
and hope. The cast’s ability to deliver
sharp comedy and serious themes makes it a show not to be missed.
On Golden Pond plays
at Theatre in the Grove, 2028 Pacific Avenue, Forest Grove through June 19th
with performances at 7:30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and matinees at 2:30 pm
on Sundays.
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