Norwalk's Eric Dino Shines in DAC Stage Production of 'On Golden Pond'

Darien Arts Center Stage is happy to cast Eric Dino in its spring production of On Golden Pond. This heartwarming production of the 1979 classic by Ernest Thompson is the first of many events planned to mark the 40th anniversary of the Darien Arts Center in 2015.

Dino, formerly of New York City and White Plains, New York, is making his debut with DAC Stage as the character Billy Ray. He currently resides in Norwalk with his wife Melissa, an Emmy award-winning producer at Sesame Workshop and his two children, Jackson and Ella.

No stranger to community theatre, Dino has appeared locally on stage in A Streetcar Named Desire and once before as Billy Ray in On Golden Pond at Curtain Call in Stamford.

He was also recently seen in the Town Players of New Canaan’s production of A Time To Kill as Rufus Buckley and as Richard Nixon’s right-hand man in the Westport Community Theatre production of Frost/Nixon. His other stage roles have included Kerry Max Cook in Elmwood Playhouse’s The Exonerated, Mr. Stanley in The Man Who Came To Dinner and Andrew Ladd in Love Letters.

Dino began his acting career 25 years ago when he attended the well-known Herbert Bergoff studio and studied with Edward Morehouse and theatre legend Uta Hagen. He has been a Screen Actors guild member for 21 years and has worked in movies, television and on stage. Some of his recent TV work has included The Following and The Mysteries of Laura.

In the past year he has additionally worked on two major motion pictures, St. James Place, directed by Steven Spielberg, and The Intern with Robert DeNiro. Originally making his living in radio, Dino left his last full-time radio job to be a stay at home dad and to fully partake in acting opportunities. Dino credits his wife Melissa and children for giving him the support needed to pursue his acting aspirations.

On Golden Pond is a charming slice-of-life play that focuses on aging couple Ethel and Norman Thayer, who spend each summer at their home on the pond. As the story unfolds, daughter Chelsea and her fiancé Billy Ray and his son, visit the Thayers at their summer home. The play explores the often-turbulent relationship Chelsea shared with her father growing up, and the difficulties faced by the older couple in their twilight years.

Patrick Kiley directs this sentimental and at-times humorous DAC Stage production. The cast includes David Jackins as Charlie Martin, the local postman, Sinacori as Ethel Thayer, DAC Kids’ Theatre teacher and veteran actress Kitty Robertson as Chelsea Thayer Wayne, Jeffries as Norman Thayer, MacKay Mumford as Billy Ray, and Eric Dino as Bill Ray, Sr.

Performances are on March 13, 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22 in the DAC Weatherstone Studio. Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at darienarts.org or by calling the DAC box office at (203) 655-5414. The DAC is located at 2 Renshaw Road, behind the Darien Town Hall.