J.R. Robinson is Norman Thayer and Suzy Hunt is Ethel Thayer in "On Golden Pond."
Montana Repertory Theatre, the professional theatre-in-residence in the School of Theatre & Dance at The University of Montana, opens its 2018 national tour of “On Golden Pond” by Ernest Thompson with a gala Jan. 19. The play continues at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20, 25-27 and Feb. 1 and 3 with a matinee at 2 p.m. Jan. 27 at the Montana Theatre in the PARTV center in Missoula.
Montana Repertory Theatre’s national tour continues with shows in Plains Jan. 22, Helena Jan. 23 and Butte Jan. 24; Lewiston Jan. 29, Great Falls Jan. 30, and Billings Feb. 5.
Greg Johnson, artistic director of the Montana Repertory Theatre, who is retiring this year after 29 years with the company, directs “On Golden Pond.” The acting company includes past Rep touring professionals like Suzy Hunt (“Doubt,” “Trip to Bountiful”), J.R. Robinson (“Bus Stop”) and Amber Mason (“Great Gatsby”).
Johnson describes “On Golden Pond” as an “American treasure.” The story is best known through the Academy Award-winning film with Henry and Jane Fonda and Katharine Hepburn. “Something deep and profound resonates through the events that unfold in this American masterpiece brilliantly penned by Ernest Thompson,” he says.
In his director’s notes, Johnson describes the play as “beguilingly simple.”
“This tale of a single family and how they pull apart and then find each other has been touching audiences for decades and generations. We at Montana Rep feel it is time to reintroduce this quintessentially American play to our audiences,” he writes.
Johnson believes “On Golden Pond” endures because of its blend of humor, lyricism and humanity. “It continues to resonate because we all have mothers and fathers, we all cope with aging, and we have all experienced being lost – and hopefully found. It is this dynamic, this finding of family and the love therein, that keeps On Golden Pond forever relevant.”
Tickets for the local run of “On Golden Pond” can be purchased online at
; the UM Arts Box Office in the PARTV Center, 406-243-4581. For more information or to purchase Montana Repertory Theatre gala tickets online visit montanarep.org.