'On Golden Pond' examines family relationships
Play Review
By Sally Carpenter sallyc@theacorn.com

Watching "On Golden Pond" at the High Street Arts Center is like spending a summer in a lakeside cottage: time plods along at a leisurely pace, there're some entertaining moments and nothing much happens.

Don Pearlman and Helene Benjamin play married couple Norman Jr. and Ethel Thayer spending the 48th summer- and Norman's 80th birthday- in their Maine lake home. The play is a slice of life character study as they tend to the minutia of life such as picking berries.

Norman has trouble remembering things and jokes about death. He's trying to avoid "growing old" by finding a part-time job, instead of relaxing into his twilight years. She tries to keep the household running and worries about his health. After a long marriage, they're comfortable with each other.

Their adult daughter and only child, Chelsea (Christine Zirbel) stops by for a rare visit, bringing along her dentist boyfriend Bill Ray (Larkin Campbell) and his son Billy Jr. (Austin Miller), a precocious 13-year-old with an adult vocabulary and attitudes. Chelsea and Bill soon depart for Europe, leaving Billy Jr. in the care of the Thayers.

The show has plenty of warm fuzzies, but playwright Ernest Thompson fails to take advantage of the dramatic possibilities. Chelsea and Norman don't get along, apparently because Norman really wanted a son, but it seems the worse that ever happened to Chelsea was that she joined the school swim team to please her dad. One wants to shake Chelsea and tell her to get over it.

She calls Norman "overbearing," but Pearlman doesn't play the character that way. The reconciliation scene between them, accompanied with much weeping from Chelsea, is too fast and easy.

Norman's health problems are glossed over. He forgets things- is he showing symptoms of Alzheimer's? We don't investigate that possibility. He has a medical emergency at the end, but his recovery is unbelievably quick.

Ethel gets exasperated with Norman, but their relationship is never strained. A potentially explosive scene between Bill and Norman is defused by Norman's easygoing manner. Billy Jr. gets along great with the Thayers right away. One of Chelsea's old beaus, the slow-witted mailman Charlie Martin (Michael German), cheerfully accepts her boyfriend without jealousy. Norman and little Billy are both "juniors" but little is made of that fact. In Act 2, everyone is so gosh darn happy that it's boring.

The essence of good drama is conflict and that's lacking here. The playwright seems afraid to make his characters suffer. Watching the characters feels like attending a family holiday celebration where only the family members know the in-jokes- it's amusing to them, but not to the outsider.

Pearlman plays his role too much for the laughs. Shouldn't he be upset that he can't remember his wife's maiden name?

Zirbel plays the chip on her shoulder on one harsh note. The longing for her father could show more, along with her potential warmth.

The other characters say that Billy is "nice" but we don't see it. Billy seems too preoccupied in finding out if the Thayers approve of his sleeping with Chelsea. And Campbell needs to show more backbone in his confrontation with Norman.

The young Miller is charming, a veteran trooper who doesn't miss a line or a cue. He's especially funny when he tries to juggle an armload of fishing poles and bait buckets. German's role doesn't add

much to the story, but his laugh is infectious and he's amusing. ries sought

The characters don't engage us because we learn too little about them. The Big Emotional Scenes that are supposed to elicit tears seem melodramatic amid the play's amiable tone.

Norman has an epiphany, but the ending is marred by errors. Ethel tries to call the operator to summon help and then looks up "hospitals" in the phone book. Doesn't Maine have 911 service? And realistically, wouldn't she immediately drive Norman to a doctor instead of stopping to admire the scenery?

The set is innovative, showing both the inside of the rustic cabin and a lovely backdrop of the woods.

Senior citizens will no doubt relate to the characters and their difficulties with grown children. The play may also appeal to transplanted East Coast natives who remember their own summers along the lake.

The show runs through March 2 at 45 E. High St., Moorpark. For tickets, call (805) 529-8700.