Published: October 31, 2008 10:13 pm      

'On Golden Pond' teaches life lessons

DANVILLE — Every family has its problems, and the Thayers are no exception. In this family, a longstanding conflict exists between father and daughter.

Norman, a retired professor, has started to show and feel his age. His now-grown daughter Chelsea never felt she met her dad’s expectations.

The two see one another briefly before Chelsea and her fiancé Bill head for Europe. They leave Bill’s son with Norman and his wife, Ethel, for the summer. The couple finds a grandson in the young man who ultimately helps heal the relationship be-tween father and daughter.

Jane Fonda chose the script as perfect for her father, the late actor Henry Fonda. She played daughter Chelsea in the film, whose plot mirrored real life for the Fondas.

Nancy Henderson, who appears in the Red Mask production as Ethel, analyzed her onstage husband and daughter as having problems with expectations.

“Chelsea always wanted to please her dad,” Henderson said. “But he had very high standards. He expected so much.”

Henderson described her own character as having “a sunny disposition. My daughter and I are close in the play.”

Gretchen Wesner confirmed that, and said although she plays a 40-ish woman, she still calls her mother “Mommy” in the script. She refers to her father, though, by his first name.

“He always wanted a son,” Wesner said about her onstage father.

Jim Wolfe, cast as the fiancé, described his relationship with his teenage son as “great,” but Wesner felt Wolfe’s character is “a little loose with parenting.”

Brian Coutant appears as Billy and sees Norman as “not all there.”

The play focuses on the older couple. Henderson as Ethel and Jim Gilmour as Norman bring their many community theater roles, as well as their life experiences, to their parts.

Gilmour described “On Golden Pond” as “a warm, relationship-centered show. Norman and Ethel have a deep and binding love. Even when they’re bickering, it’s not mean spirited.”

Audiences who see this show, directed by newcomer Chelsea Collier, may take some lessons back to their own families as a result.

IF YOU GO

Red Mask Players will present “On Golden Pond” on Nov. 7-9, 14-16, and 21-22 at the Kathryn Randolph Theater, 601 N. Vermilion St. Friday and Saturday performances are at 8 p.m. and Sundays are at 2 p.m.

Reservations may be made in person at the theater box office from 6-8 p.m. Nov. 2-6 or by calling the box office at 442-5858. Season memberships are still available.