By Gillian Brunette
Ontario tour is part of the celebrations taking place for the 100th anniversary of Anne of Green Gables
For the past 100 years, young girls have fallen in love with the adventures of Anne Shirley, the heroine of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series, and her home on Prince Edward Island (PEI).
Known for her braids of fiery red hair, unending chatter, limitless imagination and unshakable optimism, Anne has been a beloved friend for readers of all ages since Montgomery published the first edition in June 1908. The novel has since been published in 33 languages and become an industry that made PEI famous around the world.
SHOW STOPPER: Anne and Gilbert, a musical about Anne of Green Gables growing up, is touring through Ontario this fall, making its only Muskoka stop in Huntsville on Sept. 23 -24.
The musical picks up where the original novel left off and tells the story of Anne Shirley’s journey into young adulthood and her romance with Gilbert Blythe.
Blythe is the young man who is destined to be the love of her life – a prickly relationship that has been brewing ever since an 11-year-old Anne broke her slate over Gilbert’s head when he called her Carrots.
The precocious redhead is now a young woman wanting to go to university. However, she first takes a position as a schoolteacher in Avonlea in hopes of saving enough money. Everyone assumes that she and Gilbert will get married but, ever the contrarian, Anne resists.
Reaching Redmond University, Anne makes new friends, including a wealthy suitor named Roy. Gilbert also turns up at Redmond, waiting patiently for Anne to see the light.
This musical sequel to Anne of Green Gables (itself a perennial fixture in Charlottetown theatre), has been playing in Summerside, PEI, for the last three summers to sold-out houses and rave reviews. The first off-island production of Anne and Gilbert at the 1000 Islands Playhouse in Gananoque last summer also played to sold-out audiences.
Now, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Anne of Green Gables and courtesy of the Huntsville Festival of the Arts, the 1000 Islands Playhouse is taking Anne and Gilbert on an Ontario-wide tour, making its only Muskoka stop for three performances at the Algonquin Theatre on Sept. 23 and 24.
Some of the very popular cast members of the original production will appear on the tour. Ashleigh Ireland and Adrian Marchuk take up the roles at the heart of the story, as the feisty Anne Shirley and dashing Gilbert Blythe.
“We always call the show a family show, but it does have a lot of edge,” said White. “It’s not a kids’ show, but kids do love it.”
“We are very pleased with the enthusiasm of theatres across Ontario for Anne and Gilbert,” said senior producer David Malahoff. “What began as a modest production at the Victoria Playhouse (in PEI) in 2005 is quickly becoming a national phenomena.”
PEI entrepreneur Campbell Webster, who mounted the sequel, recently announced that Anne and Gilbert is being translated into Japanese for a production in Japan. He also has plans to tour the show in Western Canada, possibly in 2009.
Toronto Star critic Richard Ouzounian said Anne and Gilbert “keeps the essential tone of L.M. Montgomery’s work without seeming like a fusty museum piece. The music has real melodic grace and invention, often veering off into unexpected harmonies and rhythms that lift it above traditional musical theatre fare. The lyrics are well crafted, serious when called for, but often wryly amusing.”
The result is a lively and authentic island-style musical, full of laughter and romance and a brand new take on a heroine Canadians have loved for years.
Anne and Gilbert takes the Algonquin Theatre stage for three performances on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for youth 18 and under and area available at the theatre box office on Main Street, by calling 789-4975, or online at www.huntsvillefestival.on.ca.
