Hal Linden, Christina Pickles Lead ON GOLDEN POND At Colony Theater

The Colony Theatre is thrilled to present the second production of its 37th season of shows - its first ever with six productions instead of five! Hal Linden & Christina Pickles will star in the classic, ON GOLDEN POND, written by Ernest Thompson and directed by Cameron Watson (Trying, Grace and Glorie). ON GOLDEN POND will preview on Wednesday, July 27; Thursday, July 28; and Friday, July 29 at 8:00pm and will open on Saturday, July 30 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, August 28 at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center.

Lovable curmudgeon Norman Thayer is as tart-tongued as ever. His spirited wife, Ethel, delights in all the small things that have enriched their lives. Together, they are returning to their summer home on the lake for the forty-eighth year and are soon visited by their adult daughter, her uptight fiancé, and his rebellious teenage son. ON GOLDEN POND is a heartwarming story about revisiting the past and forging new bonds across generations. This modern classic remains an inspiring celebration of the universal challenges we all face, and the ultimate triumphs of life, love, and family.

The award-winning Colony Theatre was founded in 1975 as a 99-seat Equity-waiver theatre in Silver Lake. Over the years the company was so successful artistically, and built such a large subscriber base, that in 2000 it was able to move into a 270-seat theatre created for it by the City of Burbank, becoming one of only 5 mid-size professional theatres in the LA area that produces a year-round season of plays and musicals, and that employs actors under contract with Actors' Equity Association. Since the move to Burbank, The Colony was named one of "25 Notable U.S. Theatre Companies" by the Encyclopedia Britannica Almanac for 8 years in a row and voted "Best Live Theatre in LA" in The Daily News 2006 Readers' Choice poll. The company's audience is so loyal that in an era when subscription is declining dramatically, and when the industry-wide "gold standard" renewal rate of 80% is considered unattainable, for the past two seasons The Colony has achieved a subscription renewal rate over 90%. This season, at a time when many theatres are shortening their seasons and canceling performances, The Colony is expanding, for the first time in its history presenting six shows instead of the usual five.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

Ernest Thompson (Playwright) Other plays include The West Side Waltz (starring Katharine Hepburn), A Sense of Humor (Jack Lemmon), Amazons In August, White People Christmas (which Mr. Thompson directed at LA's Zephyr Theatre), The Elixir (directed by and starring Mr. Thompson at the Isis Theatre Company in Idyllwild), the short play collections Answers, Valentines for Two, and The Penis Responds (which Mr. Thompson directed and starred in Off-Off-Broadway). Films include "On Golden Pond" (Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda, Academy Award, Golden Globe, Writers Guild Award), "Sweet Hearts Dance" (Susan Sarandon), "1969" (Robert Downey, Jr., directed by Mr. Thompson), "The Lies Boys Tell" (Kirk Douglas), "Out of Time" (Showtime, Daytime Emmy nomination Best Director), "The West Side Waltz" (directed by Mr. Thompson with Shirley MacLaine and Liza Minnelli), and the live TV production of "On Golden Pond" (Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, directed by Mr. Thompson). Through his company, Whitebridge Farm Productions, he has directed and stars in "Time and Charges," now in postproduction, and about to direct and star in "Heavenly Angle." At his farm in New Hampshire, Mr. Thompson teaches workshops for actors and directors and weekend boot camps for writers, eight of whom arrive on a Friday night with blank files and by Sunday afternoon are having their newly created plays read by professional actors in a front of a live audience. www.ErnestThompson.us or www.WhitebridgeFarmProductions.com.

CAMERON WATSON (Director) returns to The Colony for his fourth production. He previously directEd Grace & Glorie, which garnered four Ovation Award nominations including Best Production and won the Ovation Award for Best Actress (Beth Grant); Educating Rita; and Trying, which received eight Ovation Award nominations and won for Best Actor (Alan Mandell) along with the Garland Award for Best Director. He most recently directed the critically lauded revival of I Never Sang for My Father starring Philip Baker Hall at The New American Theatre and A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Cameron directed the American premiere of I Capture the Castle at the El Portal (six Ovation Award nominations) and the East Coast Premiere at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey last winter. Other directing credits include Horton Foote's The Habitation of Dragons at the Actor's Co-Op and the unique one-woman show Rolling with Laughter which played Los Angeles, the Edinburgh Festival, and Her Majesty's Theatre in London's West End. Cameron wrote and directed the Miramax feature film "Our Very Own," which stars Allison Janney in an Independent Spirit Award-nominated performance, Jason Ritter, Keith Carradine, Cheryl Hines, Faith Prince, Beth Grant, and Mary Badham. His professional acting career began in New York when Horton Foote cast him in the original Off-Broadway production of The Widow Claire at Circle in the Square. His lengthy acting credits include leading roles at the Pasadena Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Laguna Playhouse, and numerous film and television appearances.

ABOUT THE CAST AND DESIGN TEAM
HAL Hal Linden (Norman) has maintained a career spanning more than 65 years with memorable roles on stage, television, and film. He made his Broadway debut in 1957 in the musical Bells Are Ringing opposite Judy Holliday and subsequently toured with the national company. He later starred in the 1962 Off-Broadway revival of Anything Goes. To date, he has performed in more than 20 Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, and his stage credits include On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Subways Are for Sleeping, The Apple Tree, The Pajama Game, The Sisters Rosensweig, A Christmas Carol, Tuesdays With Morrie, I'm Not Rappaport, Something More, The Education of Hyman Kaplan, Three Men on a Horse, Chicago, Cabaret, The Gathering, and The Rothschilds, for which he won the 1971 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. His feature film credits include "Bells Are Ringing" (1960), "When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?" (1979), "Starflight One" (1983), "Out To Sea" (1997) with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, "A New Life" (1988) with Alan Alda, and "Time Changer" in 2002. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of police precinct captain Barney Miller in the hit television series that aired on ABC from 1975-1982, earning him multiple Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for his work. On television, he also earned two Emmy Awards for hosting ABC's "FYI" in the early 1980s and garnered a third Emmy in 1984 for his portrayal of a rabbi in "The Writing On The Wall" for the CBS series "Schoolbreak Special."

He also hosted the popular ABC children's series "Animals, Animals, Animals" in the 1970s which earned numerous Emmys and the Peabody Award. After "Barney Miller," Hal starred in several more series for network television: "Blacke's Magic" (1986), "Jack's Place" (1992-93), and "The Boys Are Back" (1994). He's had numerous guest appearances on many shows including "Hot in Cleveland," "Gilmore Girls," "Will and Grace," "The Drew Carey Show," "The Nanny," "The King of Queens," "Touched By An Angel," and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." More recently, Hal has spent considerable time traveling the country with his show, "Hal Linden In Concert," a combination of songs and theatrical musings highlighting moments from his life and career. This year, he released his first CD, "It's Never Too Late," a collection of pop, standards, show tunes, and jazz, on which he sings and plays the clarinet.

Christina Pickles (Ethel) has appeared on Broadway and Off-Broadway in Man and Superman, The Seagull, You Can't Take it With You, Right You Are, If You Think You Are, War and Peace, and The Misanthrope. She also performed in the American premieres of A Pagan Place by Edna O'Brien and Chez Nous by Peter Nichols, and she received Los Angeles Critics Awards for Cloud Nine, Undiscovered Country, and The Letters of Janet Flanner. Recently, Christina appeared in The Antaeus Company's production of Tonight at Eight Thirty and South Coast Repertory's West Coast Premiere of Dead Man's Cell Phone. Born into an English theatrical family, Christina trained at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She came to New York and starred in Congreve's The Way of the World, which gained her entrance into The APA Repertory Company. She spent several summers at the Williamstown Theatre Festival where she appeared in Heartbreak House with Blythe Danner. Danner's husband, Bruce Paltrow, cast Christina in the long-running TV hit "St. Elsewhere," and she received five Emmy nominations for her role as Nurse Helen Rosenthal. Christina continued to appear in many television shows including "Friends," for which she received an Emmy nomination as Ross and Monica's dysfunctional mother. Her films include "Grace of my Heart," "Legends of the Fall," Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet," and "The Wedding Singer." Christina can also be heard on NPR reading many short stories for Symphonyspace's Selected Shorts.

JERRY KERNION (Charlie) returns to The Colony Theatre after having starred in Rounding Third a few seasons back. Other recent theatre includes playing the Dromio twins in A Noise Within's production of The Comedy of Errors and Marty Shmelky in Cirque du Soliel's Banana Shpeel at The Chicago Theatre. He has also appeared in various shows with The Shakespeare Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, McCarter Theatre, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, and Circle X Theatre Company (Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV, pt.1), among others. His film and TV credits include guest starring roles on "Grey's Anatomy," "Mad Men," "Weeds," "NCIS," "The Suite Life," "Castle," "Ghost Whisperer," "ER," "The West Wing," "Scrubs," "Better Off Ted," "Kickin' It," "Cold Case," and "The Princess and the Frog," among others. Jerry studied at the Royal National Theatre and has a B.F.A. in Drama from Ohio University.

Monette Magrath (Chelsea) appeared onstage most recently at South Coast Repertory in the World Premiere of Silent Sky. Her New York theatre credits include The Seagull, Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, and Strindberg's The Stronger. Her regional theatre credits include the East Coast Premiere of Stick Fly at McCarter Theatre Center, Book of Days at Arena Stage, the World Premiere of The Night is a Child at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Enchanted April at both Cleveland Play House and Arizona Theatre Company, and The Ice-Breaker and The Laramie Project, both for Laguna Playhouse. Monette has also appeared at Pasadena Playhouse in The Constant Wife, As You Like It, It's a Wonderful Life, Private Lives, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and the West Coast Premieres of Enchanted April, The Night is a Child, and Mauritius. Her other Los Angeles theatre credits include All My Sons for McCoy/Rigby Entertainment at La Mirada Theatre, The Glass Menagerie for CCAP @ Boston Court, and the World Premiere of The Rehearsal at Walt Disney Concert Hall with the LA Philharmonic. Her television credits include recurring roles on Showtime's "Weeds" and UPN's "Redhanded," and a leading role in the pilot "Outpost." Her film credits include Garry Marshall's "The Other Sister," "Spirit Hunter," "Looking for Mr. Miyagi," "Two Girls Walk Into a Bar...," "Jake's Closet," and the upcoming "Miss Dial." Monette holds a BFA from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts.

NICHOLAS PODANY (Billy) is a sophomore at Brentwood School, and his previous productions include Buddy Layman in The Diviners (Theatre Palisades), Richie in 13, The Musical (Norris Theatre), and Nicholas in Nicholas Nickleby (Los Angeles Youth Theatre). In his spare time he writes and records songs (playing guitar, bass, piano, and drums) and creates music videos under the name Across Coves. He is also a tap dancer with the advanced performance group at the Colburn School.

Jonathan Stewart (Bill) has starred in many plays and musicals across the country. His appearances Off-Broadway include Perfect Crime at The Snapple Theater Center, A Little Night Music at C.A.P. 21, Road to Hollywood at Primary Stages, and Valentino the Musical at The Judith Andersen Theater. His regional credits include 42nd Street at Goodspeed Musicals; Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alan Ayckbourn's By Jeeves at Goodspeed Musicals and The Geffen Playhouse; Richard II, Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, and Twelfth Night at the Utah Shakespearean Festival; Oklahoma!, Phantom, and Brigadoon at the Bucks County Playhouse, as well as numerous roles at the Dallas Shakespeare Festival, Dallas Theater Center, and American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. His TV credits include "Law & Order S.V.U.," "White Collar," "Cupid," and a recurring role on "As the World Turns."

ON GOLDEN POND has assembled an award-winning design team. The Scenic Design is by John Iacovelli (Emmy Award - Peter Pan). The Lighting Design is by Jared A. Sayeg (Ovation Award Nomination - Trying). The Costume Design is by Terri A. Lewis (Ovation Award Nomination - I Capture The Castle). The Sound Design is by ReBecca Kessin (The All Night Strut!). Props design and set dressing is by Colony Theatre resident designers MacAndMe.

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

ON GOLDEN POND will open on Saturday, July 30 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, August 28. Performances for ON GOLDEN POND are Thursdays & Fridays at 8:00pm; Saturdays at 3:00pm & 8:00pm; and Sundays at 2:00pm. Ticket prices range from $20.00 - $42.00 (student, senior and group discounts are available). ON GOLDEN POND will preview on Wednesday, July 27; Thursday, July 28; and Friday, July 29 at 8:00pm at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center.

Opening night performance with reception - all tickets $50.00. There are question-and-answer talkbacks after the performances on Friday, August 5 and Thursday, August 18. For tickets, call the Colony Theatre Box Office at 818/558-7000 ext. 15 or online at www.ColonyTheatre.Org.