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Anne: the love story
August 17, 2005 - Andrea Nemetz, The Halifax Chronicle Herald
New musical picks up where 1908 Montgomery novel left off - and the freckle-faced orphan-turned-teacher is getting a lesson in love.
Anne of Green Gables is as famous for her inspirational imagination as her carrot-coloured braids. But until now fans of the musical, still going strong after opening at Charlottetown's Confederation Centre for the Arts in 1965, have had to put their own imaginations to work in wondering what's next for the spunky, freckle-faced orphan who won the hearts of elderly brother and sister Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert - although they requested the orphanage send a boy to their farm in the fictional community of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island.
Anne fans no longer have to wonder.
Anne & Gilbert picks up where the original 1908 Lucy Maud Montgomery novel left off, with Gilbert Blythe giving up his job teaching at the Avonlea school so Anne can stay in the community and care for Marilla after Matthew's death.
The new musical, which had its world premiere at the intimate Edwardian-era Victoria Playhouse, about 30 minutes outside Charlottetown on Aug. 4, is a heartwarming, tear-inducing, thoroughly satisfying production that will delight Anne's kindred spirits and newcomers to the charm of the Island's most famous resident.
Based on the novels Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island (published in 1909 and 1915), Anne & Gilbert focuses on the relationship between the heroine and the man who everyone but Anne can see is destined to be the love of her life - a relationship that began when 11-year-old Anne broke her slate over Gilbert's head when he called her Carrots.
That cute kid has grown up to be a dreamboat - and he's nice too. In one of the 2 1/2-hour production's many catchy songs, a chorus led by Anne's archrival Josie Pye and her cohort tells how everyone swoons when "Mr. Blythe" enters the room. It's a chorus reprised throughout the show to much comic effect.
Yet the only one who is immune to his charms is the only one he wants—Anne.
In the title roles, Halifax's Marla McLean and Toronto's Peter Deiwick, who both have appeared in the Toronto musical Mamma Mia!, capture their characters perfectly.
McLean vividly embodies the many Annes of L.M. Montgomery's creation - romantic, passionate, determined, curious and playful. The Nova Scotia actor who won a Merritt Award for best performance in a Nova Scotia theatre production for her turn as Helen Keller at the Atlantic Theatre Festival in Wolfville never strikes a wrong note as she grows from uncertain schoolgirl to confident woman who can't quite accept Gilbert's love for her.
Deiwick, like Gilbert in the books, brings a touch of arrogance to the role - he knows he's good-looking, charming and smart and is aware of the effect he has on women - but deep down he's a caring, compassionate man.
Their relationship, struggles and all, has a fairytale quality but ultimately feels real.
Still in the hands of Halifax's Sean C. Robertson, who starred in Mamma Mia in Toronto, it's not hard to see how handsome, debonair millionaire Roy Gardner can temporarily win Anne's heart. Their graveyard meeting in which he offers his umbrella feels movie-perfect.
P.E.I. native Pam Stevenson's Rachel Lynde is a hoot - gossipy, sharp-tongued but eminently likable. Wolfville-based ECMA Award-winner Laura Smith's stalwart Marilla, whose rough edges have been worn smooth by Anne's goodness and Matthew's death, makes the driest eye tear up with her lament When He Was My Beau.
Other standouts include young P.E.I. actor Brandon Banks' Paul Irving - a good-natured geek in the mould of hit TV actors Topher Grace and Adam Brody, Maria Campbell's Phillipa Gordon, as well as Natalie Sullivan's Gilbert-crazy Josie Pye.
The script by Jeff Hochhauser won't disappoint even hard-core Anne devotees. It nicely balances romance with Avonlea adventures.
The music by Bob Johnston and Nancy White, with lyrics by White, Johnston and Hochhauser, is memorable. Highlights include the Celtic-infused You're Island Through and Through, sung by Gilbert, Anne and ensemble, with fiddle music by John Connolly playing the much-mocked Moody McPherson; the comic Our Duty; the gloriously romantic Someone Handed Me the Moon; and You're Never Safe From Surprises Till You're Dead, which goes from jovial to heartbreaking.
Live accompaniment from musical director Lisa St.Clair on keyboards, Julia MacLain on cello and Mark Haines on violin brings warmth to the show.
Director/choreographer Duncan McIntosh, winner of three Dora Mavor Moore Awards, never allows the production to dip into sentimentality while manoeuvring a cast of 18 around a small stage. The dances capture the essence of the era and the region, with a spectacular grand ballroom scene at Redmond College that includes a reprise of You're Island Through and Through. Highland champ Brittany Banks's dance skills shine through as she portrays Prillie Rogerson.
Philip Clarkson has done a masterful job with costumes, ranging from the simple pinafores and homespun dresses of Avonlea to the gorgeous confections worn by rich girl Phillipa at Redmond University.
Producer Campbell Webster hopes to take the musical off Island but the perfect place to see it is the 154-seat Victoria Playhouse in the P.E.I. coastal village.
