Berkshire on Stage

Sometimes a performer leaves such an indelible impression in the interpretation of a character that it’s hard to accept another actor in the role.   That seemed to be the case for the dual roles of Ethel and Norman Thayer in Ernest Thompson’s ON GOLDEN POND.  How could we forget Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda in the film version of this play?  But, from the moment we meet Lora Lee Ecobelli and Steven Patterson, in John Sowle’s moving production at Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, we are hooked.

Thompson’s play, opening on Broadway in 1979, has since been staged throughout the country and the world.  The playwright adapted it into a highly successful film directed by Mark Rydell, opening in 1981, for which Hepburn and Henry Fonda won Academy Awards.  Jane Fonda played their daughter.

Walking into the intimate theatre at Bridge St., the mostly older audience is faced with a set that looks very much like an old summer house they may have owned or rented at some point for family gatherings.  This one, owned by Ethel’s family since she was a child, is located on Golden Pond, in Maine.  She and Norman have spent 48 summers there.  Not only has Carmen Borgia, set and sound designer, created a warm, cozy, rustic, memory-filled room, but his soundscape completes the mood:   we hear the call of the loons on the lake below, birds, approaching automobiles, the sound of Norman’s fishing boat, and the rain, which we can see falling beyond the large picture windows and outside porch facing the woods.  The furniture looks hand carved; there’s a comfortable old sofa, a stone fireplace, a bookshelf with well-known, well-read classics (Norman was a former college professor), many framed photos and a staircase to the bedrooms.  It is May–the house has been closed for the winter, the furniture covered with sheets.

The Thayers have not seen their daughter, Chelsea (Caitlin McColl), forty-two years old, divorced and living in California, in eight years.  She and her boyfriend, a dentist named Bill Ray (Zach Gibson), plan to stop by for Norman’s eightieth birthday on their way to Europe.  Norman is sure they are visiting at the instigation of Ethel, since he and his daughter have a fraught relationship and she would not willingly have visited.  What Chelsea’s parents don’t know is that Bill, also divorced, has a thirteen-year-old son, Billy (a terrific Brody Shaver), who is accompanying his father. Rather than go to Europe, he ends up staying on Golden Pond for a month (engineered by Ethel).  The final character in the mix is Charlie (Nico Ager) the mailman, who has always had a crush on Chelsea.  His relief when he finds out she’s divorced is short lived when he learns about Bill.  But he’s got a contagious laugh that covers his hurt.

The play is about entrances and departures (a device often employed by Chekhov), the challenges of aging (Norman is facing frightening memory lapses); the difficulties between parents and their adult children, the resulting hurt on both sides and the attempt to forgive and move on; the enduring love between the Thayers, who, as time passes, have no choice but to accept what tomorrow will bring (Norman has an obsessive fixation about death); the worry that once the season is over and they leave their beloved summer house will they be able to return the following year; and the joy a “quasi” grandchild can bring to a lonely couple.

Yet, despite the serious issues they (and we) face, there is a great deal of humor in the play–for the most part due to Patterson’s comedic chops as he says whatever occurs to him, never thinking of how it will land.  His Norman is a curmudgeon, a contrarian always testing the waters.  Gibson’s Bill comes right out and confronts him, during a very uncomfortable conversation: “you like to have a good time with people’s heads. . . I just want you to bear in mind while we’re sitting here smiling at each other and you’re jerking me around that I know precisely what you’re up to and that I can take only so much of it.”

When we first meet Norman, he is bent over, walks slowly, has trouble navigating steps, calls the operator to see if the phone works and promptly forgets why he called.  He is restless, studies the want-ads for unsuitable jobs, and is haunted by the fear of losing his mind.  But after spending a month with Billy, he is back to his beloved pastime:  fishing.  Now that he has a buddy, his gait is more energetic, he’s smiling, and has even absorbs some of Billy’s colorful language.

Lora Lee Ecobelli’s Ethel is a caretaker:  she too is concerned about Norman’s physical and mental issues, but she always reassures and restores him; her love for him shines through every scene.  His most passionate defender, Ethel will not brook Chelsea’s complaints about him.  It is Ethel who uncomplainingly takes on every job:  cooking, cleaning, packing, unpacking, gathering firewood, and organizing/mothering Norman.  

Catilin McColl is a quiet Chelsea, brooding about her childhood with a father who was never a “Daddy,” though she refers to her mother as “Mommy.”  When she tries to approach Norman by apologizing for her yearslong anger at him, he answers: “I didn’t realize we were mad. I thought we just didn’t like each other.” But somehow, with Ethel’s loving guidance, they find a way to connect.

Brody Shaver’s Billy, the child of divorced parents, living with a neglectful mother, walks with a stoop when he enters, claiming that he has a lot on his mind.  But he turns out to be quite spunky and, like his father, understands that the best way to treat Norman is to stand up to him, giving as good as he’s getting.  He realizes that Norman, despite his bravado, is fragile and Billy looks out for him as their friendship develops during the course of the month.

John Sowle’s sensitive direction has penetrated to the heart of this poignant play, especially as the time draws near for the Thayers to say goodbye for the season to the home they love and their cherished loons.

ON GOLDEN POND runs from November 13-23 at the Bridge Street Theatre’s “Priscilla” Mainstage, 44 West Bridge Street, Catskill, NY.  Showtimes are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 2, with a special 2:00 matinee on Saturday, November 22.  For tickets call 518-943-3894 or online at BridgeStreetTheratre.org.

Bridge Street Theatre presents ON GOLDEN POND by Ernest Thompson.  Director:  John Sowle.  Cast:  Steven Patterson (Norman); Lora Lee Ecobelli (Ethel); Nico Ager (Charlie); Caitlin McColl (Chelsea); Brody Shaver (Billy Ray); Zack Gibson (Bill Ray).   Sets and Sound by Carmen Borgia; Lights by Jo Averill-Snell; Costumes by Michelle Rogers. Production Stage Manager:  Hannarose Manning.  

The production runs a little over two hours, including a ten minute intermission.