On Golden Pond Posts Provisional Closing Notice for June 26

[Rob]

Posted: 6/21/05 at 7:50pm

https://www.broadwayworld.com/l.cfm?id=76559

[Auggie27]

Posted: 6/21/05 at 9:03pm

Sad, because it stars the great James Earl Jones, and the always wonderful Uggams.

But was it really needed, this old fashioned (shoving African Americans in white roles) spin on "reviving?" (I won't go into my preference for seeing a new play by a new black writer...) The play was always medium boulevard fare, most memorable for providing a star vehicle for Hepburn and Fonda.

It's a comment on the times that producers assumed broadway needed middle-brow stuff with wonderful stars, STEEL MAGNOLIAS and ON GOLDEN POND, and neither has done much box office. Along with both Williams dramas (admittedly badly received) and the Albee (well received), this has not been a golden moment for revisiting the tried and true. (Yeah, I know the exceptions...)

Updated On: 6/21/05 at 09:03 PM

[buskeat]

Posted: 6/21/05 at 11:34pm

The most important thing of all:

Best wishes to the great Mr. Jones for a quick recovery.

[SamIAm]

Posted: 6/22/05 at 9:40am

Jones was actually quite ill a few years ago but recovered nicely. I hope he gets well very soon. As for whether or not we need these shows, it is nice to see good straight plays on the stage and not just have the producers throwing revivals of tired old musicals or trying to stage movies in an effort to make quick cash.

The same is being done now in the movies with versions of TV shows like 'Bewitched', 'The Dukes of Hazard' etc...

Have we really not spawned any creative minds in the past 3-4 decades so we just have to keep rehashing the old stuff or are we just lazy?