In the “Author's Note” to the Dramatists Play Service edition of On Golden Pond, Thompson recalls an early performance of the play that was attended by the acclaimed American playwright Tennessee Williams. Thompson says that Williams loved the play but hated to see the characters go, adding, “Let them stay the winter.” While there is little critical commentary on the script of On Golden Pond, theater critics often comment on it in their reviews of productions of the play. The play has remained a critics' favorite, even though it was written in the 1970s. Reviewers find that the characters are believable and likeable and that the themes are both worthwhile and relevant. In the Sarasota Herald Tribune, Kay Kipling writes, “Familiarity is what makes Ernest Thompson's play work,” adding that “the dramatic situation—an aging couple faces mortality—[is] familiar to just about all of us...