Were Critics Pleased with Jones and Uggams in On Golden Pond?

With Leonard Foglia's staging of Ernest Thompson's On Golden Pond, Two-time Tony Award winner James Earl Jones is making his return to Broadway. He plays an old curmudgeon, spending his another summer in the country with his wife, played by Leslie Uggams, and some unexpected visitors. Was Jones' return a welcome one in the eyes of the critics?

Here is a sampling of what they had to say:

Edward Karam in his Broadway.com Review: "On Golden Pond doesn't bear close scrutiny. It works only when the genius or charisma of its stars, irrespective of fame, can blind an audience to its shortcomings. Frances Sternhagen and Tom Aldredge apparently made it soar in the original outing, and on film Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn charmed their way to Oscars. Despite its two name stars, James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams, there's little of such chemistry in Leonard Foglia's production… On Golden Pond, to its credit, is one of the rare plays to focus on the elderly, but as a dramatic meal it's more cornflakes than sirloin."

Ben Brantley of The New York Times: "Mr. Jones's natural grandeur forces the play to find room for his sweeping emotional breadth… Those big lungs of Mr. Jones infuse every aspect of this show with oxygen. The sitcom-ish aspects of On Golden Pond play as smoothly as ever, but they have been largely purged of their stickiness. Most important, as he fences with the shadow of death, joking robustly about his imminent demise, Mr. Jones's Norman makes you acknowledge how often comedy is rooted in fear… As the no-nonsense, nature-loving Ethel, Ms. Uggams is an affectingly reserved foil… The rest of the cast, under Mr. Foglia's astutely relaxed direction, is close to faultless."

Clive Barnes of The New York Post: "There can be no doubt about Jones' abilities--they still most emphatically work. Thompson's play… is obvious, sentimental and yet well-enough crafted to be touching rather than maudlin… Although it is naturally dominated by Jones' beautifully portrayed, lovable but never too lovable curmudgeon, the rest of the cast elegantly establishes their relationship with him. Uggams--soft-toned but sassy--is as perfect in her way as Jones, making the caring, understanding, slightly rueful wife a figure of graceful reality much more than the tintype cliché she could easily become."

Robert Dominguez of The New York Daily News: "Flashing his trademark sly grin, and with the unmistakable voice that launched a thousand starships in full boom, Jones hardly comes off as the kind of crotchety old coot the story calls for. The role can be a tour de force for an older actor--a frail Henry Fonda won an Oscar playing Norman in his final film, the 1981 screen version that co-starred Katherine Hepburn and Jane Fonda. But Jones' imposing stage presence reveals the thinness of the plot. Take away Norman's glib and caustic one-liners, and it's a simplistic, mawkish play that glosses over the father-daughter conflict at its core."

David Rooney of Variety: "In Jones' blazing, intelligent eyes and in that incomparable deep velvet voice, his humanity is never in question. If nothing else in director Leonard Foglia's dignified production approaches that towering standard, it doesn't much matter… Despite the emotional agenda, Foglia has very markedly weighted the play toward its humor, aided immeasurably by Jones' mischievous light touch. The steady laughs come as a welcome surprise and soften the sentimental claptrap into far more palatable entertainment."

Michael Kuchwara of The Associated Press: "[Jones] is giving one of those theatrically combustible performances that spark the entire production. The dynamic Jones invests the role not only with humor, but with a great deal of heart as well… Linda Powell exudes the right amount of frosty belligerence as the offspring who has been hurt too often by her father and refuses to take it any more. Her scenes with Jones are lovely, telling as much for what is left unsaid as for what is actually spoken."

Elysa Gardner of USA Today: "Jones has a swell time with these more acerbic lines, tossing them out with the easy poise and expert timing of an ace pitcher. Uggams' agility, in contrast, can seem out of sync with her character at times: Even in a drab old-lady wig, the 61-year-old actress is far too beautiful and spry to suggest a woman pushing 70. Uggams' enduring vitality--and Jones', for that matter--is helpful, though, in showing us the patience and affection that have kept this couple together for some five decades. There also are winning turns from the supporting actors."

Linda Winer of Newsday: "This is the sort of play--complete with the sound effects of loons--that functions best by questioning least. Jones is at the top of his form as Norman, the curmudgeonly retired English professor, and Leslie Uggams is pleasantly elegant as Ethel, who calls him a 'poop' and adores him perhaps more than Thompson means for him to deserve. When Tom Aldredge and Frances Sternhagen created the couple in 1978--and especially when Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn immortalized the characters in the movie--Norman was a colder, more difficult fellow than the complex but merely cranky sweetheart onstage now. Thus, when the couple's estranged daughter brings home a new boyfriend and his 13-year-old son on Norman's 80th birthday, it is hard to buy the woman's lifelong anger toward her demanding father… Ray Klausen's rustic set has a nice lived-in feeling and no roof; its stylized quality is emphasized by a huge picture frame around the pastel pond and hills. The dreamlike setting gives the play a fragility we never feel from Jones, who, despite forgetfulness and heart trouble, seems too hearty for this to be his last summer on the pond."