Entertainment

Contemporary Theatre of Dallas has made a success of breathing new life into old warhorses, garnering awards and a loyal audience for the tried and true.

The latest example is On Golden Pond, Ernest Thompson's 1979 slice of New England life. Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn won Oscars for the 1981 film version.

Local theater institution Jerry Russell, founder of Fort Worth's Stage West, plays soon-to-be-octogenarian Norman Thayer, who's spending his 48th summer on a Maine lake with his loving wife, Ethel (Sylvia Luedtke). Norman has heart palpitations and is losing his memory, though not his penchant for pulling people's chains.

Ethel, no youngster herself, worries while trying to stay sunny. Their daughter, Chelsea (Contemporary Theatre artistic director Sue Loncar), has a strained relationship with Norman. When she shows up with her latest boyfriend (Stan Graner) and his son (Lorenzo Salazar IV), the tension mounts. The kid ends up staying behind to become Norman's fishing companion while Chelsea and her intended travel to Europe.

That's about all that happens, so the play is more about tone than plot. Mr. Russell sets it, giving a naturalistic, understated performance that lends Norman and his cantankerous personality verisimilitude. Under Michael Serrecchia's direction, less is more.

The best scene is Mr. Russell's one-on-one dance with Mr. Graner as Chelsea's guy attempts to negotiate his place in this discordant family. Mr. Graner convincingly conveys his protectiveness toward Chelsea as well as his trepidation about her father. Francis Henry also stands out as the happy-go-lucky mailman, a jokester with a longtime thing for Chelsea.

The playwright has an ear for snappy dialogue, including hilarious exchanges almost always involving Norman and his morbid fascination with death.

"Eighty? That's really old," his new charge says.

His response: "You should meet my father."

And when the phone rings: "It's not St. Peter, is it?'

Stuffed with signs of lives well-lived – Polaroids and other pictures, hats on a rack, decorative plates on a shelf – the two-story set by scenic designer Rodney Dobbs and prop designer Tish Mussey is a kind of knickknack heaven, establishing the mood even before the actors hit the stage.

Manuel Mendoza is a Dallas freelance writer.

Through Oct. 26 at Contemporary Theatre of Dallas. 120 mins. $27 to $32. 214-828-0094, www.contemporarytheatre ofdallas.com.

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