Norman, the Loons are flying in at The Ritz!
Join Theatre of Gadsden as we present the modern classic On Golden Pond, on stage at The Ritz Theatre in Alabama City. The show will run two weekends February 3rd thru 12th. The Friday and Saturday shows will begin at 7:30pm and the Sunday show at 2:30pm. Tickets are available online now.
Local veteran director Danny Townsend has assembled a cast of some of the best stage actors in Etowah County. This is a show that you certainly do not want to miss and is a perfect precursor to the Valentine's Day holiday immediately following the run.
On Golden Pond 2011 Stage Cast
Lewis Fuller as Norman Thayer
Angela Van Tassel as Ethel Thayer
Brandy Brothers Townsend as Chelsea Thayer Wayne
Justin Rogers as Charlie Martin
Derek Goins as Bill Ray
Jesse Pinkston as Billy Ray
On Golden Pond is a 1979 play written by Ernest Thompson. The plot focuses on aging couple Ethel and Norman Thayer, who spend each summer at their home on a lake called Golden Pond.
During the year the story takes place, they are visited by their daughter Chelsea with her fiance and his son along for the visit. The play explores the often turbulent relationship the young woman shared with her father growing up, and the difficulties faced by a couple in the twilight years of a long marriage.
A Little History of the Productions
After five previews, the first Broadway production opened on February 28, 1979 at the New Apollo Theatre, where it ran for 126 performances. After a summer break, it reopened with the same cast on September 12th at the Century Theatre, a small playhouse in the basement of the Paramount Hotel, where it ran for an additional 256 performances.
After nineteen previews, a Broadway revival opened on April 7, 2005, at the Cort Theatre, where it ran for 93 performances. James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams headed the cast. Jones, who was often ill during the run, eventually was diagnosed with pneumonia, forcing the production to a sudden and premature closing.
Michael Learned (from The Waltons) and Tom Bosley (Happy Days and Father Dowling) starred in a 2006-07 U.S. national tour to very positive critical acclaim and box office success.
The play was adapted for the screen by Thompson in 1981 and the film was released in December of that year, directed by Mark Rydell. Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn headed the cast which also included Jane Fonda as Chelsea.
In 2001, CBS aired a live television adaptation of the play that was heavily publicized in the press due to the reunion of former Sound of Music stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer in the lead roles.
In 1979, the play was nominated for a Tony Award (Best Actress for Frances Sternhagen playing Ethel), and five Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding New Play, Best Actor and Actress, as well as Set and Costume Design. On Golden Pond received the distinction of "Best Play of 1978-79" in The Burns Mantle Theatre Yearbook.
In 2005, On Golden Pond was again up for awards, this time two Tony Awards, one for Best Revival of a Play and the other for Best Actor (Jones).