Darien Arts Center Stage is thrilled to cast veteran actor Will Jeffries in its spring production, On Golden Pond, the classic 1979 play by Ernest Thompson. Jeffries will play Norman Thayer in this heartwarming production, the first of many events planned to mark the 40th anniversary of the Darien Arts Center in 2015.
On Golden Pond, a charming slice-of-life play, focuses on an aging couple Ethel and Norman Thayer, who spend each summer at their home on the pond. As the story unfolds, daughter Chelsea and her fiancé Billy Ray and his son, visit the Thayers at their summer home. The play explores the often-turbulent relationship Chelsea shared with her father growing up, and the difficulties faced by the older couple in their twilight years. Patrick Kiley directs this sentimental and at-times humorous DAC Stage production that encompasses universal family themes including love, loss, aging, resentment, and forgiveness. He is elated to work with Jeffries in his directorial debut at the DAC, “I feel so privileged to work with such an experienced actor. Will’s intuition and innate talent are priceless and add immeasurably to the chemistry on stage.”
Jeffries brings many years of experience to the black box theatre at the DAC Weatherstone Studio. He has worked in New York and Los Angeles for twenty-five years, acting on stage, in films and TV. His film work has included Iron Eagle, Remo Williams and Refuge. He has been in dozens of TV series including ER, Newhart, Valerie, and Matlock; and in soap operas, most notably playing the evil Damon Grenville on General Hospital. Off Broadway, Jeffries played JFK in Kennedy at Colonus. He originated the role of Arnold’s lover Ed in Torch Song Trilogy with Harvey Fierstein and played IRA commander Keeney in the American Premiere of Brian Friel's Volunteers. He also co-starred in Shaw's Don Juan In Hell with Ricardo Montalban, Lynn Redgrave, and Stewart Granger under the direction of Marshall W. Mason.
Jeffries is also no stranger to community theatre. In addition to DAC Stage, he has worked with The Ridgefield Theatre Barn, The Bridgeport Theatre Company, The Town Players of New Canaan, Wilton Playshop, Westport Community Theatre, Curtain Call, and Carriage House Arts Center. In the DAC Stage production of On Golden Pond, Jeffries plays husband to Nancy Sinacore’s Ethel. It will be the third time that the two actors have portrayed husband and wife on stage. After some years of travelling in the same circles but not having much interaction, fate seemed to eventually pull them together as man and wife in Death of a Salesman at Curtain Call and again in All My Sons at the Ridgefield Theatre Barn. Says Jeffries of his latest role as Sinacore’s husband, “I am so glad to be Norman to her Ethel.”
The cast of On Golden Pond includes David Jackins as Charlie Martin, the local postman, Sinacori as Ethel Thayer, DAC Kids’ Theatre teacher and veteran actress Kitty Robertson as Chelsea Thayer Wayne, Jeffries as Norman Thayer, MacKay Mumford as Billy Ray, and Eric Dino as Bill Ray, Sr. Performances are on March 13, 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22 in the DAC Weatherstone Studio. Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at darienarts.org or by calling the DAC box office at (203) 655-5414. The DAC is located at 2 Renshaw Road, behind the Darien Town Hall.