The 2001 live performance of On Golden Pond is very different from the 1980 film version, so be prepared when you watch it. Each of the performers have their own interpretation of their roles. Sometimes it's nice to watch people pay homage to their predecessors, and sometimes it's refreshing to just see something brand new. If you don't want to imagine Katharine Hepburn without Henry Fonda as her "knight in shining armor" (which, incidentally, isn't in the original script), just stick to the original.
The rest of you get to see Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer together again after nearly forty years! As you know from the script of On Golden Pond, they don't have the best relationship in the world, so it's not going to be as sweet as you're expecting. The language is also full of artificialities that no one would say in real life; you'll be very aware that you're watching a play. As an eighty-year-old character, Chris has an enormous amount of pep. He doesn't appear to be decrepit in the slightest, and when he talks about dying, you can't help wondering if he's simply a hypochondriac. Julie is also very different from Katharine Hepburn. She's youthful, vibrant, and full of elegance. Kate was her delightful self, but she also had to appear as old as her crotchety husband. When Julie says, "You're in your seventies and I'm in my sixties," you'll think she means the early part of the decade until Chris corrects her.
Glenne Headly also is extremely different than Jane Fonda in the role of the daughter. When Jane tells her mother that she's functional in the outside world, only reduced to reliving her fat childhood when she comes home, you believe it. She seems capable and confident, but just happens to have issues with her father. Glenne seems insecure and full of emotional problems; her issues can be triggered at the drop of a hat. It's up to you to figure out which interpretation you like better, but if you're a regular theatregoer, you'll probably be able to appreciate both versions.
The rest of you get to see Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer together again after nearly forty years! As you know from the script of On Golden Pond, they don't have the best relationship in the world, so it's not going to be as sweet as you're expecting. The language is also full of artificialities that no one would say in real life; you'll be very aware that you're watching a play. As an eighty-year-old character, Chris has an enormous amount of pep. He doesn't appear to be decrepit in the slightest, and when he talks about dying, you can't help wondering if he's simply a hypochondriac. Julie is also very different from Katharine Hepburn. She's youthful, vibrant, and full of elegance. Kate was her delightful self, but she also had to appear as old as her crotchety husband. When Julie says, "You're in your seventies and I'm in my sixties," you'll think she means the early part of the decade until Chris corrects her.
Glenne Headly also is extremely different than Jane Fonda in the role of the daughter. When Jane tells her mother that she's functional in the outside world, only reduced to reliving her fat childhood when she comes home, you believe it. She seems capable and confident, but just happens to have issues with her father. Glenne seems insecure and full of emotional problems; her issues can be triggered at the drop of a hat. It's up to you to figure out which interpretation you like better, but if you're a regular theatregoer, you'll probably be able to appreciate both versions.