''Golden Pond' tickets go on sale 17 Feb

Tickets go on sale on the 17 Feb 2005 for On Golden Pond, by Ernest Thompson, directed by Leonard Foglia and starring James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams, opening at the Cort Theatre on the 7 Apr 2005, following previews from the 22 Mar.

This new production of On Golden Pond premiered last Fall at The Kennedy Center (28 Sep - 18 Oct), followed by an engagement at The DuPont Theatre in Wilmington (22-31 Oct). This path ironically followed the original 1979 production's pre-Broadway journey from The Kennedy Center to The DuPont (then named The Playhouse) before opening on Broadway. On Golden Pond will transfer to New York intact with the same cast and creative team.

"I am honored to bring the legendary James Earl Jones back to Broadway, paired with Leslie Uggams in On Golden Pond," said lead producer Jeffrey Finn. "Our recent engagement at The Kennedy Center was a great success and we're looking forward to New York seeing our new production of this family classic." Finn produced the premiere at The Kennedy Center and is joined by Arlene Scanlan and Stuart Thompson in New York.

Joining James Earl Jones as Norman and Leslie Uggams as Ethel are Linda Powell as Chelsea, Peter Francis James as Bill, Craig Bockhorn as Charlie and Alexander Mitchell as Billy. All four appeared with James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams in D.C. and Wilmington.

In On Golden Pond, retired New England professor Norman Thayer and his spirited wife Ethel decide to spend one final summer at their family's lakeside cottage in Maine. En route to a European honeymoon, the couple's estranged daughter Chelsea arrives to leave behind her fiancé's troubled young son . Colliding generations soon forge common ground, but when Chelsea returns to discover Norman playing the father she never had, years of bitter memories and resentment rise to the surface.

The production features set design by Ray Klausen, costume design Jane Greenwood, lighting design by Brian Nason and sound design and original music by Dan Moses Schreier.

James Earl Jones has a long and distinguished career on stage, bookended by his Tony Award-winning performances in 'The Great White Hope' (1968) and 'Fences' (1987). Other stage work includes '"MASTER HAROLD"...and the boys', 'The Iceman Cometh' and 'Othello'. James Earl Jones last Broadway appearance was in the 1987 production of 'Fences', for which he won his second Tony Award, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. He subsequently took the play to Los Angeles, where he won the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for his performance.

Leslie Uggams won the Tony for Leading Actress in a Musical for 'Hallelujah, Baby!'. She most recently appeared on Broadway as Muzzy Van Hossmere in 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' and additional Broadway credits include Reno Sweeney in 'Anything Goes', 'Jerry's Girls' and 'Blues in the Night'.

The World Premiere of On Golden Pond first opened on Broadway at The New Apollo Theatre on the 28 Feb 1979 for 126 performances. A return New York engagement at The Century Theatre opened 12 Sep 1979 for an additional 424 performances.

The acclaimed 1981 film version starring Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Fonda and Dabney Coleman was nominated for nine 1982 Academy Awards, winning three for Fonda, Hepburn and author Ernest Thompson for the screenplay he adapted from his own play. For his screenplay, Mr. Thompson also won Golden Globe and Writers Guild of America awards.