On Golden Pond

Foothill Theatre Company is back with an autumnal show in an autumnal slot, demonstrating the company’s considerable artistic virtues. The success of Foothill’s On Golden Pond production is that you quickly stop thinking back to the 1981 film and focus on what’s happening “live.” Veteran actor David Silberman is marvelous as the crusty (yet ultimately redeemable) old coot Norman, delivering his sarcastic lines with perfect timing and a hint of warmth. Lucinda Hitchcock Cone is equally good as Norman’s level-headed wife Ethel. And Carolyn Howarth skillfully traverses her part as middle-aged daughter Chelsea, nursing a failed marriage and determined to make something better out of the second half of her life. Director Lynne Collins brings freshness to this familiar tale, and Tim Dugan’s set (with a rotary phone and screen windows to keep the ’skeeters out) looks like a real vacation cottage.