12 - Friday, May 28, 1999 - N Shore News NORTH SHORE NEWS ENTERTAINMENT & STYLE GUIDE ELIZABETH Green (fresh left), John F. Parker and Caro! Whiteman struggle to love | the one they’re with i e First Impressions production of On Golden Pond. NEWS photo Paul McGrath aS SUNNY John F. Parker shines in First impressions show @ On Golden Pond by Ernest ‘Thompson. Produced by First Impressions Theatre at the Deep Cove Shaw Theatre until June 5. @ Bineprints from Space by Mark Leiren- Young. Produced by Carou: heatre at The Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island to May 29. Martin Millerchip Curtain Call THERE’S « huge difference, dramati- cally speaking, between not much happening and something taking for- ever to happen. The former can still be engrossing, the latter verges on boredom. ake current productions of Qu Golden fiom Space tor ¢ I knew the plotline of On Gelden Pond, it being one of the few movies | have actually scen, so [ was anticipating making allowances i Truth be known, £ did not t to enjoy the production, I did. And [ think you might too. What made the experience even rm prising was the fact that actor John F. Parker and director Michael Simms tip their hand early about the heart that beats inside of old man Nornian Thayer. Parker’s Thayer may be crotchety, ev eal by an estranged daughter with a chip on her shoulder about becoming the brother she never had. There is no isolation to be pierced by the needs of a young boy. We know from the beginning that, despite forgetfulness, awareness and intellect live strongly inside Thayer's head. With an expres- cand merry twinkle, Parker also let's us One might argue that such an approach reduces the dramatic tension implicit in the sit- uation of an old man who experiences the thendship of a boy and thereby appreciates the need his dau has for the same thing, After all, if Sereoge was nice, there wouldn't be any thosts. But Parker is so engaging as Thaver that it just doesn’t matter, He is the curmudgeonly frog that we Anam is just.a prince tn disguise. And the payoff is that we enjoy aff of the time we spend in his company. The rest of the cast do well too. Elizabeth Green as Ethel Thayer comes from England, rather rhan New E Jand, and is too young for the role. But it very quickly stops mattering. She generates much of the play's energy and pace, providing the sun to Norman's clouds. Actor Carol Whiteman as daughter Chet is probably least well sezved by the play's script and production choices, but that is no reflection on her, Chelsea's stated needs relate to her father, but there appear to be just as many probl vith the mother/daughter relation- ship thar the playwright ignores completely. In any case, there is little time to appreciate the baggage Chelsea carries trom the past before she takes off for Europe, coming back near the end to meet with her father ina scene whos ending the audience already knows, bur € does not. Ryan Crocker plays a great hick with his heart still on his sleeve tor Norman and Ethel’s daughter, Chelsea, Cemeron McDonald turn: in a nice cameo as Chelsea's new beau, Billy Ray, but young actor Joel Palmer as Billy junior goes one better and comes close to scene steal- ing. (note that Palmer and James Kirk alternate The strength of Ii & Ink and brush paintings by Linda Hu, May 29, 2 to 5 p.m. 1609 Pinecrest Dr., West Van Layne Christensen News Reporter layne@nsnews.com AMONG the 40 or so paintings that comprise the exhibition of Chinese ink and brush paintings by Linda Hu, there are a handful of works that are not for sale. compelling image is of a pair of t from Hh to her husband same Grade 5 classroom in Taiwan -— about which they were both unaware until fate brought them together much later in fife. It was Lily Sun, a student of the Dalai Lan and grand-daughter of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, who played match-maker. Sun had met cach on separate occasions while in Vancouver attending official ceremonies at the gardens named in her grandfather's honour. She had a premonition. Hu, an artist and scholar, and Wong, a scientific rescarcher, were husband and wife in a previous incarnation. She was determined to bring them together again in this life. The couple will celebrate their 10th anniversary in October. It seems appropriate, respectful even, that Hu will donate the proceeds from a show of her works Saturday to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens. For the one-day show and sale, the couple have transformed the main floor of their newly built Bricish Properties mansion into an art gallery. The seyen-room, 8,500-square-foot neoclassical show- piece with its oak-lined living room and solid gran- ite facade is their “dream home.” It was designed know Thayer's ats just as strongly. by Hu, who studied interior design at Brooklyn’s Pratr Institute as well as fine arts and English fitera- ture at Duchesne College in Nebraska. Hu’s artwork blends wie tradition of Chinese brush painting with a Western sensibility. Living in a foreign culture — Vancouver, Hong Kong and different parts of the United States — has made her more aware of her own culture and, ultimately, more aware of herself. The beauty of Chinese brush painting lies with- in the artist’s ability to convey mood and move- ment, light and shadow through a single brush stroke. It is a deeply introspective art. “Pm creating a world for you to see that is my own inner self,” says Hu, whose artwork will b exhibited at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden June 4 and 5. Admission to the West Vancouver show is by invitation. Those interested in attending are asked to call Ya-Lin or Margaret at the garden, 662- 3207. Directions to the house will be provided. See Take Page &% NEWS photo Mike Wakefield LINDA Hu’'s most recent paint- ings are a series on orchids.