"ON GOLDEN POND "
Written by Ernest Thompson
Directed by Louis Palermo
March 2nd through April 1st, 2007
Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
Professor Norman and Ethel Thayer have been summering on Golden Pond for almost half a century. Their daughter, Chelsea, hasn’t joined them in ages, but she’s coming this year, and she’s bringing her fiancé, Bill. When Chelsea arrives, long-standing father- daughter tensions re-emerge, but Chelsea has a big favor to ask. She and Bill need time alone together. Could Bill’s young son, Billy, stay a month with Norman and Ethel, despite Norman’s age and shaky memory? How will the Thayers cope with an angry, 13-year-old, potential grandson? Will the kid be too much of a handful? Will Norman’s heart hold out? Come see the play and find out.
MEET THE CAST :
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Paul Nixon (Norman Thayer) - Paul is a retired high school teacher who has filled his retirement years with the thing he loves most-acting. He has appeared twice before at the Center Players, in PLAY ON and in I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER. Some of his favorite roles in local theaters have been in SUNSHINE BOYS, OF MICE AND MEN, ON BORROWED TIME, and TEN LITTLE INDIANS. In 2005, he received the NJACT's Perry Award for his work as Mr. Green in VISITING MR. GREEN. He is very happy to appear again with the Center Players, and has enjoyed working with a fine director and an excellent cast in this very pleasant little theater.
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Fran Raleigh (Ethel Thayer) - Fran began her association with local community theater as a costume designer and seamstress, making costumes and set appointments. She made her stage debut in "On Golden Pond" as Ethel; this will be her third appearance in this role and she welcomes the opportunity to expand her character. She has also appeared as Martha Brewster in "Arsenic and Old Lace", as Polly in "Cliffhanger", as Nurse Ratched in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", as Mrs. Gibbs in "Our Town", as Mrs. Barrymore in "Hound of the Baskervilles, as Mary Margaret Donovan in "The Octet Bridge Club". Fran would like to thank the great number of people that the audience doesn't see but without whom there would not be a production and especially Louis Palermo for his enthusiasm, hard work, and dedication. |
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Tom DeCaro (Charlie Martin) - On Golden Pond marks Tom DeCaro's second appearance on the Center Players' stage. Last summer, he portrayed Eddie Kurnitz in Lost in Yonkers . Before he tried acting, Tom worked in the tech booth for the Center Playhouse productions of Hamlet, Men Are Dogs, Friends and Dracula . A former journalist and adjunct instructor of English, Tom currently works as an office manager and lives in Sayreville with his son, Scott, and daughter, Tara. He thanks his family and friends for their support and, of course, Center Players, where he has found a home away from home. |
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Maryann Keseday (Chelsea Thayer Wayne) - Maryann Keseday is pleased to be working with the Center Players for the first time. She recently appeared as "Ouiser" under Louis Palmero's direction of "Steel Magnolias" and is happy to be working with him once again. She has appeared in several productions of the South Street Players, including include "Crimes of the Heart", "Ordinary People", "To Kill a Mockingbird" and is proud to have received the Aggie Award from that company. She dedicates her performance to her loving family and friends.
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Anthony Cipriano (Billy Ray) - Anthony didn't expect to be back on the Center Players stage so soon after "Dracula", but he is very happy to be part of the classic "On Golden Pond". It is a pleasure to be sharing the stage for the first time with Paul, Tom, and Chris. He is very happy to be working with Fran and Maryann again. Maryann and Anthony shared emotional turmoil in "Ordinary People" at The Clarksburg Inn dinner theater - a play that moved him deeply and which is still the source of his favorite role, after all of these years. Anthony thanks his family, especially, Mia for supporting this endeavor, the staff of "On Golden Pond" for their caring efforts, and especially Louis Palermo for entrusting him with the complex character of Billy Ray. Hopefully, we can give Bill some extra punch. |
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Chris Dubrow (Billy Ray, Jr.) - Chris is a 13-year-old student at Maple Place School. He’s very pleased to return to Center Players for his third play. He was in Hamlet For All Ages (Polonius) and understudy twice for Lost in Yonkers. (Arty) He would like to thank Peter Stark for all his help, his mother and father for “driving” and his brother for staying out of the way. |
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Louis Palermo (Director) - Since coming to Center Players, Lou has been an actor and director, however, he has been involved in theater for the better part of 30 years. In his first role for South Street Players, at that time located in St. Rose of Lima's gymnasium, Lou played the part of a German mayor in the play Never Too Late, in 1983. He is a member of South Street Players' Board of Directors, and has been involved in numerous productions, as performer, director, producer, stage manager, etc. His is also a board member of Center Players. |
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Funding has been made possible, in part, by the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, through the county Historical Commission and the NJ State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment of the Arts.
