Review: Amelia Community Theatre Vacations ON GOLDEN POND

Ernest Thompson's 1979 ON GOLDEN POND is an ode to the durability of love and family in the face of aging, loss, and miscommunication. Amelia Community Theatre has just opened a touching production of the Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning play which became a critically-acclaimed film two years later starring Katharine Hepburn and the father-and-daughter team of Henry and Jane Fonda. Helmed by veteran director Toni D'Amico, ACT's trip to Golden Pond is a lovely, welcoming experience that effectively balances both sides of this bittersweet comedy-drama.

In the ACT production, the central Thayer family is played with tremendous heart by Christina Johns and Don Maley in the roles of the aging Ethel and Norman, who have returned for their 48th summer (and Norman's 80th birthday) at their vacation home on the banks of Golden Pond in Maine. Rounding out the Thayer clan is daughter, Chelsea, played by Laura Swaim. Swaim delivers a thoughtful performance as the troubled, disillusioned daughter whose bitterness over the lack of a relationship with her irascible father seems to throw a permanent shadow over her life. In the difficult role of Norman, Maley provides a powerhouse turn as the curmudgeonly patriarch struggling with memory loss. Maley expertly navigates the central role which, while in its ferocity, also provides much of the play's comedy - often in the form of roared one-liners.

The supporting characters provide a wonderful foil for the contentious Thayer family. In his stage debut, Ron Price delights and provides light-hearted joy as Charlie the mailman, still pining for Chelsea after many years. Jeff McDowell plays Bill Ray, Chelsea's new boyfriend, who, in his single scene provides a strong dynamic interaction with the difficult Norman ("I'm Chelsea's father, but not her Daddy") as he struggles to understand the strained relationship between father and daughter. Finally, in his non-school stage debut, Brandon Bingham energizes the stage with his performance as young Billy Ray who develops an unlikely friendship with Norman.

Director Toni D'Amico and co-set designer Mike Sullivan have created a warm and inviting New England lakeside living room whose utilitarian furniture has seen 48 years of summer visits for Norman and Ethel. Married with the tranquil, though sometimes mournful and haunting calls of the famous loons so beloved by Ethel, a beautiful backdrop complete with a silhouetted tree line and pond ripples is clearly visible through the skeletal, transparent walls of the vacation bungalow.

In a special tribute, D'Amico has dedicated this production to the recently-passEd Graham Thomas, who made his debut at Amelia Community Theatre in a 1998 production of ON GOLDEN POND. As chair of ACT's capital campaign, Thomas was instrumental in bringing the dream of the theatre's new building to life and became a friend and mentor to D'Amico. In her Director's Notes, D'Amico hopes that the production will "remind us to pay attention, not only to the beauty of the places we love but also to the beauty of the people we love, no matter their age."

ON GOLDEN POND opens Amelia Community Theatre's 36th Season. The season continues with the Florida premiere of a musical based on Dickens, EBENEZER: A CHRISTMAS CAROL, by Frank Trimble, Tim Firth's CALENDAR GIRLS, David Lindsay-Abaire's RABBIT HOLE, Nell Benjamin's THE EXPLORERS CLUB, and closes with the Tony Award-winning musical, AVENUE Q.

ON GOLDEN POND runs through October 15 at Amelia Community Theatre located at 207 Cedar Street in Fernandina Beach. The theatre is located within walking distance of beautiful historic Fernandina Beach's restaurants and shops. For reservations and information on this production and subscriptions to their 36th Season, visit the ACT website at ameliacommunitytheatre.org or call 904-261-6749.