‘Golden Pond’ a Little Shallow : Some of the portrayals lack depth in the Huntington Beach Playhouse production of Ernest Thompson’s unabashedly sentimental drama.

“On Golden Pond” can seem like a visit to the emotions boutique, where all the feelings are persuasively packaged and displayed. Look, there’s sadness over there, right next to regret. Isn’t that joy in the corner, just a few feet from love?

However well-intentioned (and it is very well-intentioned), Ernest Thompson’s sentimental play never has relied on understatement. But we’re supposed to accept that, just as we’re supposed to accept grouchy Norman Thayer as an example of how tough growing old can be.

At the Huntington Beach Playhouse, Norman is played by Joe Abrams, a likable actor with more than a few amateur comedy roles on his resume. He has good timing; he moves slowly, almost painfully, through Mary Eckmann’s set of a rustic lakeside retreat in Maine, as if the world was weighing him down, but he punctuates the toil with wisecracks, amusingly delivered.

He knows that Norman--a septuagenarian who believes he has come to Golden Pond to die--is a crowd-pleaser, the crank you can’t help but love, and as an actor he works that angle pretty well. His Norman gooses everybody with the panache of a Borscht Belt stand-up.

Abrams isn’t quite as able when it comes to the deep stuff, though. He doesn’t convey the anger at the core of Norman’s predicament. So it may not be a full performance, but at least it’s not a maudlin one.

The same can be said of this entire production. Director Gregory Cohen lets Jo Black (as Ethel, Norman’s forever upbeat wife) go a bit wild over the loons mating in the pond (they’re one of Thompson’s pushy metaphors, symbolizing continuity and love, I suppose). But that’s the kind of material he’s dealing with, and he does keep it from becoming overgratuitous.

Actually, even with her thing with the loons, Black generally is solid as the woman who puts up with Norman’s moods and must act as midwife to his emotional rebirth during their stay in the woods. Marnelle Ross is vague as their daughter Chelsea but communicates something of the tension between her and Norman.

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There’s only a cursory connection between Abrams and Michael Patrick McDonald, who plays the young Billy Ray. McDonald, in what admittedly is a difficult role for a young actor, is too affable, too centered in his interpretation of the troubled teen who gives Norman an opportunity to feel useful. They bond quickly, easily--really too quickly, too easily.

In the small (but opportunity-rich) role of Charlie, the goofy back-roads mailman, Rick Watson takes over the few scenes he’s in. Good accent, great laugh. Daryl Mendelson, however, overplays it as Bill Ray, the unctuous dentist who is Billy Ray’s dad and Chelsea’s new boyfriend.

* “On Golden Pond,” Huntington Beach Playhouse, 21141 Strathmoor Lane. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Ends Aug. 14. $9 and $10. (714) 832-1405. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

Joe Abrams: Norman Thayer

Jo Black: Ethel Thayer

Rick Watson: Charlie Martin

Marnelle Ross: Chelsea Thayer-Wayne

Michael Patrick McDonald: Billy Ray

Daryl Mendelson: Bill Ray

A Huntington Beach Playhouse production of the play by Ernest Thompson, directed by Gregory Cohen. Set by Mary Eckmann. Lighting by Terri Verhaegan.