Richard Figge and Dede Klein in “On Golden Pond.” Photo courtesy of Coach House Theatre

When you think of Ernest Thompson’s “On Golden Pond,” the movie version with film legends Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn and Jane Fonda (distributed in 1981) probably comes to mind. There was a 1979 stage version, however, with a solid play script that kept the drama running in various New York City theaters for a year and which the author easily turned into a movie script. That’s the one Coach House Theatre is bringing to the Akron area.

The play can be called a romantic comedy, even with the dark subjects of dementia, the near-death accidents that the aged character Norman Thayer and his grandson have on the pond and Norman’s heart attack.

In the end, though, the tale is about enduring love—between Norman and Ethel and the long-suffering, struggling affection over the years between Norman and his daughter, Chelsea.

Ethel and Norman go each summer to a place called Golden Pond. The summer the play takes place, Chelsea arrives with her new love interest, Bill Ray, and his son, Billy Ray Jr. Chelsea asks her parents to keep the child while she and Bill go off to get to know one another.

While she’s gone, Norman and Billy Ray Jr. bond with one another during a series of fishing expeditions and fun on the lake. They even wreck a boat and are stranded for a bit in the water.

When she returns, Chelsea has mixed reactions about her father and the boy. She’s amazed that Norman can form an emotional bond with anyone other than Ethel—and that gives her hope. But she is upset because she sees the bond between her father and someone who is a stranger to him as something she always hoped to have.

Ethel, who is a constant mediator between Norman and the world (keeping him focused and getting him to spend time with the boy, among other things) eventually prompts father and daughter to have a serious talk about mending their relationship.

At play’s end, Norman and Ethel are making plans to visit Chelsea across the country. They have found a way to make it work.

In Coach House Theatre’s production, Dede Klein and Richard Figge play Ethel and Norman. Both are strong actors who regularly appear on the theater’s stage. Michael Cranston, Sarah Lyon, Scott Shriner and Manny Liotta play the other characters: the postman, Chelsea,  Bill and Billy Ray Jr. Artistic director Nancy Cates directs.

“On Golden Pond” will be performed at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday through Dec. 15 at Coach House Theatre, 732 W. Exchange St. 330-434-7741. www.coachhousetheatre.com. Tickets are $20 ($15 on Thursdays and $12 for students).