Metro Pulse/Backstage/On Golden Pond

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What:
On Golden Pond

When:
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., thru Aug. 2

Where:
Black Box Theatre

Cost:
$12 general, $8 student/senior; $5 on Thursdays

On Golden Pond is funnier than you think

by Paige M. Travis

Put aside for a moment what you know or think you know about On Golden Pond. When you hear the title, you're likely to think of the 1981 film with Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn and Jane Fonda. Maybe you also think of words like sentimental, schmaltzy and emotionally disturbing. This is a family drama, which usually means yelling, crying and hugging in some combination. I tend to avoid films of the heartstrings-yanking, manipulative ilk.

But when the Actors Co-op chose to perform Ernest Thompson's play as the first production of its 2003-2004 season, I figured there must be more to On Golden Pond than I assumed. The Co-op wouldn't present a predictable, emotionally manipulative play. It's just not their style.

What director Amy Hubbard has presented is heartwarming and poignant and—much to the surprise of the audience and maybe even the cast—absolutely hilarious. A mere 10 minutes into the first act, the play was already funnier than the last comedy I saw. This has everything to do with actor Bruce Borin.

Borin is the crotchety, cynical and morbid Norman Thayer, a former professor who is approaching his 80th birthday. He and wife Ethel (Karen Brunner) have returned to their summer home, a cabin on Golden Pond in Maine. While Ethel is busy getting the place in order and enjoying the local scenery, Norman sits in the house reading and griping. He doesn't want to fish or take walks or pick strawberries. Norman could easily be given a one-note performance by a less talented actor. On the surface, he's just an old complainer. But Borin makes him more than that. He's adorable, amusing, self-absorbed and vulnerable. He loves his wife and the verbal games they've been playing during almost 50 years of marriage. What's surprising about On Golden Pond is how Borin's witty retorts and his facial expressions make even the simplest lines funny. On opening night, the full house in the Black Box Theatre laughed heartily. Norman could be played as a mean old man, but Borin brings out his curmudgeonly sense of fun. He still loves life, which may be why he's so afraid of dying.

Brunner meets him at every move. Her Ethel is spry and sassy, but still maternal. She pretends to pay Norman's fussiness no mind, but she knows his grouchiness covers a deeper insecurity. But she hides her own concern, to protect them both from having to face too clearly the realities of aging.

As if Norman wasn't bothered enough by his fragile health and faltering memory, he has to deal with a visit from his daughter Chelsea (Kara Kemp), her boyfriend Bill (Charles Miller) and his son Billy (Kyle Fox). Norman has wicked fun trying to unnerve Bill, a touchy-feely dentist from California, but by standing his ground, Bill earns the old man's respect. And Billy wins his heart. When he first sizes up the cabin and the Thayers, Fox slumps and grunts in lazy adolescent style. But he's not fazed by Norman, and the conservative old Downeaster is intrigued by the boy's California slang. The theme of an older person being given a new lease on life by a young person is fairly cliché, but the change in Norman is so delightful that you forgive the playwright's contrivance.

Norman's relationship with his daughter is a harder nut to crack. They've never been able to communicate, and their time to learn how is limited. Urged by her mother, Chelsea makes an effort to talk to her father. While no major past hurts are mended or dramatic moves made toward reconciliation, they quietly come to an understanding that they want to be friends. Kemp perfectly captures the defensive over-sensitivity of a woman who's never quite grown up or felt accepted by her father. Her tentative steps toward making a connection with Norman are subtle and realistic. Years of estrangement can't be overcome in a few minutes, but the father and daughter open up to each other just enough to see a different future.

The heart of On Golden Pond is the love between Norman and Ethel. As the play is written, the couple is tight, their relationship effortless. It's not the romantic love of newlyweds, but the timeworn trust and patience of long-time partners. Borin and Brunner make that union completely real on stage. The result is poignant and completely honest. The actors don't pull punches. There's no swelling violin music to force your feelings into maudlin territory (although the music between scenes is a bit sentimental). To be truly moved by a play is refreshing and inspiring. It's a reminder of what makes the experience of live theater so enjoyable and worthwhile.