On Golden Pond Offers a Lighter Take on a Classic Tale

The challenge with adapting a stage play from a feature film is getting trapped by the on-screen performances, especially if the actors are strong and the movie is popular.

This is was the conundrum for Director Tina Lee and her stage adaptation of On Golden Pond, playing at the Somerset Valley Players Theater in Hillsborough Oct. 28 through Nov. 3.

"I told my actors not to watch the movie and that I did not want to play the characters in the movie,” Lee said, referencing On Golden Pond, the feature film starring Henry Fonda (Norman) and Katherine Hepburn (Ethel). “I told Rich Klein, who plays Ralph, that I wanted him to play his Norman not Henry Fonda and I told Elaine Wallace who is playing Ethel, not to play Katherine Hepburn.”

The result, Lee said, is an adaptation of the novel, written by Ernest Thompson, that is meant to provide a lighter flair to the story when compared to the movie.

“The movie can be very sobering and dramatic,” Lee said. “The stage play version has a little more laughter in it— funny things. I did not want it to be a comedy and I did not want it to be so dramatic.”

On Golden Pond is a love story that focuses on the long time relationship between Ethel and Norman Thayer who return to their summer home on Golden Pond for the 48th year.

They are joined by their daughter’s fiancé's son, who they come to embrace as a grandson that they never had. Over the course of the summer, the relationship dynamic between Normal and Ethel, the son, (Billy) and the daughter (Chelsea), bring them all closer as they learn to appreciate these relationships and come to understand that life can be fleeting and perhaps shorter than one expects.

“What I tried to do was stress was the family dynamic between Norman and Ethel,” Lee said. “The summer evolves with Norman getting closer to Billy and wanting to stay in Billy's life and Chelsea comes back married. They all make things work. They move past the bad times and that is what I am trying to bring out in the play. It is also a very poignant love story between Ethel and Norman. I played that up.”

Lee, who has been directing for 25 years,  said that On Golden Pond is one of her favorite stories.

“I like the way its written,” Lee said. “It takes place over the course of a summer and characters evolve. I liked that I could create a nice rustic cabin as a set. I absolutely love the dynamic between Norman and Ethel. I wonder what its like to be married that long and feel that way.”

On Golden Pond runs from Oct. 28 through Nov. 13. Show times are 8 p.m on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $17 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased online. For more information, visit the Somerset Valley Players Theater online or call 908-369-7469.