On Golden Pond Reviews

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 6:42pm

Broadway.com is Mixed-to-Negative:

"Despite its two name stars, James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams, there's little of such chemistry in Leonard Foglia's production.


Fans will want to see Jones or Uggams, and perhaps they won't be disappointed. Sitcom-quality laughs are plentiful, and although Jones' appearances on stage are far too rare, he hasn't gone rusty. He invests the querulous, irritating Norman with enough humanity and nuance that we care about him, but even he can't disguise the gaping holes in Thompson's plot."
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"On Golden Pond, to its credit, is one of the rare plays to focus on the elderly, but as a dramatic meal it's more cornflakes than sirloin."
http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=509854

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 6:45pm

I'm interested to see these reviews...It's been kind of quiet, and this show needs something big to keep it going.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 6:49pm

Talkin Broadway is Mixed:

"Is it possible for anything - a lake, or perhaps a play - to be too placid? With regards to this question, the Broadway waters are about to be tested with the heartfelt but lethargic revival of On Golden Pond that just opened at the Cort.

Like Steel Magnolias, which also just opened on Broadway in a faithful but lifeless revival, this play by Ernest Thompson is unlikely ever to completely escape the shadow of its movie version."
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"Anyone stepping into the roles of Norman and Ethel Thayer in a major production today must be prepared to be stand up to those lofty comparisons. Leonard Foglia, this production's director, understood this, and was undeniably successful at casting two actors about as far removed from those esteemed Hollywood icons as imaginable: James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams.

They're both up to the challenge, and don't have to expend much energy to wipe away memories of Fonda and Hepburn."
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"But because Jones's Norman seems fully human from the outset, the actor has nowhere to go. This makes most of the second act's developments, intended to be revelatory for Norman, lack any identifiable dramatic punch. The final outcome of the play, focusing on the still-evolving relationship between Norman and Ethel, remains affecting; Thompson demands it. But the lack of definition to Norman's dramatic arc keeps it from being as powerful as it could be, or must be - how else can a pedestrian tear-jerker reach its fullest potential?"



Talkin Broadway

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 6:51pm

Yeah, what's with the sentimental plays lately? A bit of sentiment is always nice, but come on...

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 6:54pm

I guess producers want safe revivals of plays that were successfully adapted into films (remember Enchanted April last year?).

Should we expect Driving Miss Daisy to come back in the next season or two?

[KMF_NYC]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 6:55pm

I was thinking the same thing Margo.....

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 6:58pm

Yeah I'm sure Uhry will pull more sentiment out of his pocket in the near future...

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 7:01pm

And the fact that it's only three characters and a minimalist set must make producers drool with anticipation.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 7:02pm

Maybe someone fabulous will be in it.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 7:07pm

How about Sally Field with some old lady makeup?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 7:12pm

I do love me some old lady make-up. Sally Field would be perfect...and I'm sure there will be 2 revivals before she's old enough to play it, so I can see that one happening!

[paradox_error]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 7:42pm

I'm so glad that you are back, Margo.

The reviews threads that you aren't involved in aren't nearly as user-friendly.

Yours are a pleasure!
Updated On: 4/7/05 at 07:42 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 7:44pm

How about Sara Michelle Geller and Freddy Prinze Junior in old people make up?

[paradox_error]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 7:44pm

*shudders*

[LaCageAuxFollesFan2]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 8:25pm

Well the Broadwayworld review was pretty damn fine...

https://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=2777

Hmmmm...the papers are all slackin on this one, none of them have posted yet.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 9:24pm

Welcome, Margo. I love to read you, and just seeing Bette's face on the side of my screen makes me feel secure at this site.

Frankly, "Driving Miss Daisy," even with Harvey Fierstein (and why not? Let the debate begin! I've pay 90 bucks just to hear him say "Piggly Wiggly.") would be dramatically more compelling that the boulevard theater of "Pond" or "Magnolias." Of course, "Daisy's" film is in another league, too. It is beautifully done by Beresford, and features pitch-perfect performances by an established legend, Tandy, and a probable one, Freeman.

But perhaps the revival fever of middle-brow entertainment will ebb, since there is no consensus about any of these. Frankly,I'd rather see new crowd-pleasers.

Updated On: 4/7/05 at 09:24 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 9:45pm

We're also getting "Odd Couple" with Nathan and Matthew next season, as well as "Barefoot in the Park." MTC is doing "Talley's Folly" and "Absurd Person Singular." Roundabout is slated to do "The Constant Wife," "Fool For Love," "Miss Julie" and maybe "Passion Play." There's also been talk of a commercial revival of "Torch Song Trilogy."

What else is prime for revival? "Sleuth?" "Equus?" "M.Butterfly?" "Same Time, Next Year?"

[magruder]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 9:59pm

La Bete!

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 10:03pm

Yeah, why hasn't "Equus" ever been revived on Broadway? Is it too dated in its anti-establishment liberalism? It's a pretty cool play, and would be an excellent star vehicle for two great actors. How about Liam Neeson as Dysart?

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 10:06pm

Personally, I can't wait for the "Fool For Love" revival.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 10:12pm

I've wondered why "Equus" hasn't been back given how successful the original production was. I don't THINK it's dated at this point and it features two of the best male roles written for the stage in the last several decades. And, of course, the nudity doesn't hurt either.

Neeson would be great, but then, there's a virtual who's who of major male stars who I'm sure would kill to get their hands on Dysart.

The play needs a great director though, who can bring as powerful a vision to the material as Dexter did in the original. Perhaps it'll get revived some place like the Donmar and then transfer over here.

[Corine2]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 10:12pm

Well I smell a Tony nomination and win for James Earl Jones.
Just came back from opening night.
I loved it. The play, and chemistry between James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams was moving. It moved me to massive tears.
I wish I had brought tissues.
Loved it.
Love the old POOP.
POOP, deserves a Tony.

Updated On: 4/7/05 at 10:12 PM

[LaCageAuxFollesFan2]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 10:55pm

AP is up and giving it - MUCH LOVE for Jones & Production...
Sweet Review for a Sweet Play!

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/THEATER_ON_GOLDEN_POND?SITE=NYNYD&SECTION=ENTERTAINMENT&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 11:04pm

Here's Brantley (Very posititive and a love letter to James Earl Jones):

"NO one can just say no like James Earl Jones. No, of course, is universally recognized as a small word of immense potential power. But you will not fully appreciate how affirmative a simple no can be until you hear Mr. Jones speak it - which he does again and again - in Leonard Foglia's surprisingly fresh revival of Ernest Thompson's "On Golden Pond," which opened last night at the Cort Theater, also starring Leslie Uggams.

The question may be as innocuous as "You want a glass of milk, Norman?" or "You're a baseball fan, huh?" The answer is always the same intimidating "N-O-O-O-O!!!" Well, typography can hardly be expected to capture a drawn-out, deep-purple note that would fit right into the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth.

As intoned by Mr. Jones's character, Norman Thayer Jr., a retired professor of English on the cusp of his 80th year, it's a sound to make grown men tremble even as they laugh at being scared. And trust me, you will laugh pretty much every time Mr. Jones says no. But you'll also experience the sympathetic ache that comes from sensing another human's awareness of his own mortality. Of slippery memory and faltering step, Norman Thayer is in the twilight of his life. Mr. Jones makes sure that this man goes any way but gentle.

That Mr. Jones's raging Norman - which is charmingly balanced by the even-keeled performance of Ms. Uggams as his wife, Ethel - seems destined to be remembered as one of the finer performances of recent Broadway seasons could hardly have been anticipated. Granted, Mr. Jones is a large man of comparably imposing theatrical stature, who won Tony Awards for blistering performances in "The Great White Hope" and "Fences" and whose booming bass voice is internationally famous as that of Darth Vader, the ultimate bad father figure, in the "Star Wars" movies.
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"Placing a powerhouse like Mr. Jones in the quaint Maine summer retreat where the Thayer family spends a season of healing seemed the equivalent of putting a German shepherd into a Chihuahua-size doghouse.

Yet rather than make his surroundings feel small and artificial, Mr. Jones's natural grandeur forces the play to find room for his sweeping emotional breadth. And it is telling that while I initially regarded Ray Klausen's set as a blown-up 50-cent scenic postcard, by the show's end it felt like a real home, with all the ambivalence that implies.

Not only does Norman start to seem a cousin of Falstaff, hearing chimes at midnight. Those big lungs of Mr. Jones infuse every aspect of this show with oxygen. The sitcom-ish aspects of "On Golden Pond" play as smoothly as ever, but they have been largely purged of their stickiness. Most important, as he fences with the shadow of death, joking robustly about his imminent demise, Mr. Jones's Norman makes you acknowledge how often comedy is rooted in fear."
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" There is a moment toward the end when Norman lies prone on the floor, unmoving and to all appearances unbreathing. Yet somehow Mr. Jones positively vibrates with all the levels of the character he has drawn before. That's something only a bona fide star of the stage can do. Such creatures are few these days. "On Golden Pond" provides a rare and welcome opportunity to catch one in peak form."



http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/08/theater/reviews/08gold.html?8dpc

Updated On: 4/7/05 at 11:04 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/7/05 at 11:09pm

Frank Scheck (Reuters, Hollywood Reporter & Newsday) is mostly positive:

"While the artificiality of Ernest Thompson's play has only become more apparent with the passing years, "On Golden Pond" remains an effective if manipulative comedy/drama that clearly connects with audiences, especially those of a certain age. In its depiction of an elderly couple's struggle with advancing years, mental decline and troubled family relations, it manages to blend pathos with Neil Simonesque one-liners to entertaining effect.

Jones, in his first Broadway outing since his Tony-winning turn in "Fences" nearly two decades ago, wouldn't necessarily seem to be the best choice to play the infirm, death-obsessed Norman. Still physically robust and possessing the booming, sonorous voice that has made him a vocal icon, he is not exactly a picture of frailty. Here, he necessarily concentrates less on the character's vulnerability and more on his irascible humor, delivering Norman's deadpan, sarcastic wisecracks with a sly comic timing that garners a multitude of laughs."

Updated On: 4/8/05 at 11:09 PM