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| Anne of Green Gables: The Musical |
Young girls in Orange County will love The Chance Theatre’s production of Anne
of Green Gables: The Musical. Based on the first and most famous of Lucy Maud
Montgomery’s eight Anne Shirley books, this adaptation by Joseph Robinette and
Evelyn D. Swenson adds songs to what has already been a 1919 silent movie, a
1934 Hollywood film (starring interestingly enough Anne Shirley), a 1956 TV
production, a British mini-series in 1972, a four-hour TV movie in 1985 which
spawned two sequels, and even a Japanese anime series. (And who knows how
many other versions are out there?)
For those like myself not acquainted with Miss Shirley’s story, the titular Anne was a
rather chatty orphan who was sent to live with “an old maid and an old bachelor”
—by mistake. (The old maid wanted a boy to help with farm work.) Anne had a
When Harry Met Sally friendship with Gilbert Blythe (who became her husband,
though not in the first book), a friendship with a properly brought up “good girl”
named Diana Barry (which was temporarily interrupted by Diana’s parents’
objections to Anne’s “bad girl” behavior), and (eventually) a loving relationship
with her adoptive parents (unmarried siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert).
Men and boys be warned: Anne of Green Gables—The Musical does not try very
hard to appeal to audiences outside its demographic. Adults will not find the kind
of “sails over the heads of children” humor that makes Disney and Pixar animated
films so popular with all ages. And boys would most likely prefer Treasure Island: The
Musical, if such a thing existed. But young girls will eat up this show, and so I’m sure
will mothers and grandmothers who grew up reading the Anne Shirley books.
The Chance, as might be expected, has assembled an excellent cast.
Jessie McLean is winning as spunky Anne. With her non-stop chattering about her
unfortunate red hair and dull name (“Call me Cordelia, or at least spell my name
with an -e.”), it’s easy to see why Anne alienates certain residents of Avonlea…at
first. But in McLean’s capable hands, Anne wins over even the grouchiest hearts.
Dianne Manaster is properly spinsterish yet warm-hearted as Marilla and Lewis R.
Crouse II, with his mountain-man mane of gray hair, looks like he could have
stepped out of one of the illustrations of the book’s first edition (assuming it had
illustrations). Ana Maria Campoy is as sweet as berry pie as Diana, and the scene
where Anne and Diana “talk elegant” and a later one where Diana gets sloshed
on cherry cordials are amusing indeed. Andrew Eddins is a handsome and
ingratiating Gilbert, lending his pleasant singing voice to the title song. Tanya
Raisa Mironowski gets to shine in two roles, as busybody Rachel Lynde, and as
Diana’s grouchy (before Anne wins her over) Aunt Josephine. Neena Tilton has
even more fun playing four roles. She’s especially funny as Anne’s spinster
schoolteacher and a hoot as the town pastor’s nasal voiced wife. Chance regular
Jeff Hellebrand does well in four roles, and musical director Bill Strongin (who
provides the excellent piano accompaniment for the show’s dozen and a half
songs) plays three parts, the most memorable of which is the very very French
Professor Engerrand. I found Strongin’s French accent (which seems to have
several more nasal vowels than the actual French language) to be the funniest
thing in the entire production. (I love over the top foreign accents). Andrea de la
Luz Ainsworth, Shannon Cudd, Peter Schnake, and Damon Hayes are very good as
Anne’s classmates, and little Sarah Pierce as Minnie May, Diana’s initially bratty
baby sister, scores twice—first, chewing the scenery as Minnie May imitates Anne’s
way of overreacting to everything, and later, dramatically, as feverish Minnie May
struggles for her life. (Don’t worry, girls. She doesn’t die.)
Chance members Casey Long (in his mainstage directorial debut) and Kelly Todd
(who also choreographed*) have done fine work directing Anne of Green Gables:
The Musical. They clearly understand and have an affection for the material.
Katherine Futterer’s set design is simple but effective. On either side of the stage
are two sets books, open to pages from the novel, and the rear projections (by
Masako Tobaru and Long) introduce and end each act with Lucy Maud
Montgomery’s printed words, and provide quick scene changes to whatever
location is being projected behind the players. The stage is illuminated by Tobaru’s
warm lighting design. Erika C. Miller (best known onstage as Cabaret’s Sally
Bowles and Into the Woods’ Cinderella, among other roles) proves herself an
expert costumer with her sumptuous designs.
*Todd’s choreography for “The Charlestown Rag” is charming.
Still, for all the deserved praise I have heaped on the cast and crew, I must confess
that Anne of Green Gables: The Musical did not captivate me as did such
Chance triumphs as Into The Woods, Cabaret, and Sunday in the Park with
George. I would guess that those outside the show’s target audience may well
find it to be a bit of a yawn. But hey, the young girls who will eat up this
production wouldn’t have been able to sit through even half an hour of the edgy,
adult entertainment that makes the Chance a must-attend theater for me.
Lovers of Little Women, Little House on the Prairie, Pollyanna, and of course the
Anne Shirley books (that is to say the half of the human race who are sugar and
spice and everything nice), will adore the Chance’s Anne of Green Gables: The
Musical. For girls of all ages, this is first-rate holiday entertainment.
THE CHANCE THEATER: 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim, CA.
Through December 23, 2007; Thu., Fri. Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m.
For Information and to Purchase Tickets:
CALL: (714) 777-3033
WEBSITE: www.chancetheater.com
--Steven Stanley
November 25, 2007
Photos: Doug Catiller
of Green Gables: The Musical. Based on the first and most famous of Lucy Maud
Montgomery’s eight Anne Shirley books, this adaptation by Joseph Robinette and
Evelyn D. Swenson adds songs to what has already been a 1919 silent movie, a
1934 Hollywood film (starring interestingly enough Anne Shirley), a 1956 TV
production, a British mini-series in 1972, a four-hour TV movie in 1985 which
spawned two sequels, and even a Japanese anime series. (And who knows how
many other versions are out there?)
For those like myself not acquainted with Miss Shirley’s story, the titular Anne was a
rather chatty orphan who was sent to live with “an old maid and an old bachelor”
—by mistake. (The old maid wanted a boy to help with farm work.) Anne had a
When Harry Met Sally friendship with Gilbert Blythe (who became her husband,
though not in the first book), a friendship with a properly brought up “good girl”
named Diana Barry (which was temporarily interrupted by Diana’s parents’
objections to Anne’s “bad girl” behavior), and (eventually) a loving relationship
with her adoptive parents (unmarried siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert).
Men and boys be warned: Anne of Green Gables—The Musical does not try very
hard to appeal to audiences outside its demographic. Adults will not find the kind
of “sails over the heads of children” humor that makes Disney and Pixar animated
films so popular with all ages. And boys would most likely prefer Treasure Island: The
Musical, if such a thing existed. But young girls will eat up this show, and so I’m sure
will mothers and grandmothers who grew up reading the Anne Shirley books.
The Chance, as might be expected, has assembled an excellent cast.
Jessie McLean is winning as spunky Anne. With her non-stop chattering about her
unfortunate red hair and dull name (“Call me Cordelia, or at least spell my name
with an -e.”), it’s easy to see why Anne alienates certain residents of Avonlea…at
first. But in McLean’s capable hands, Anne wins over even the grouchiest hearts.
Dianne Manaster is properly spinsterish yet warm-hearted as Marilla and Lewis R.
Crouse II, with his mountain-man mane of gray hair, looks like he could have
stepped out of one of the illustrations of the book’s first edition (assuming it had
illustrations). Ana Maria Campoy is as sweet as berry pie as Diana, and the scene
where Anne and Diana “talk elegant” and a later one where Diana gets sloshed
on cherry cordials are amusing indeed. Andrew Eddins is a handsome and
ingratiating Gilbert, lending his pleasant singing voice to the title song. Tanya
Raisa Mironowski gets to shine in two roles, as busybody Rachel Lynde, and as
Diana’s grouchy (before Anne wins her over) Aunt Josephine. Neena Tilton has
even more fun playing four roles. She’s especially funny as Anne’s spinster
schoolteacher and a hoot as the town pastor’s nasal voiced wife. Chance regular
Jeff Hellebrand does well in four roles, and musical director Bill Strongin (who
provides the excellent piano accompaniment for the show’s dozen and a half
songs) plays three parts, the most memorable of which is the very very French
Professor Engerrand. I found Strongin’s French accent (which seems to have
several more nasal vowels than the actual French language) to be the funniest
thing in the entire production. (I love over the top foreign accents). Andrea de la
Luz Ainsworth, Shannon Cudd, Peter Schnake, and Damon Hayes are very good as
Anne’s classmates, and little Sarah Pierce as Minnie May, Diana’s initially bratty
baby sister, scores twice—first, chewing the scenery as Minnie May imitates Anne’s
way of overreacting to everything, and later, dramatically, as feverish Minnie May
struggles for her life. (Don’t worry, girls. She doesn’t die.)
Chance members Casey Long (in his mainstage directorial debut) and Kelly Todd
(who also choreographed*) have done fine work directing Anne of Green Gables:
The Musical. They clearly understand and have an affection for the material.
Katherine Futterer’s set design is simple but effective. On either side of the stage
are two sets books, open to pages from the novel, and the rear projections (by
Masako Tobaru and Long) introduce and end each act with Lucy Maud
Montgomery’s printed words, and provide quick scene changes to whatever
location is being projected behind the players. The stage is illuminated by Tobaru’s
warm lighting design. Erika C. Miller (best known onstage as Cabaret’s Sally
Bowles and Into the Woods’ Cinderella, among other roles) proves herself an
expert costumer with her sumptuous designs.
*Todd’s choreography for “The Charlestown Rag” is charming.
Still, for all the deserved praise I have heaped on the cast and crew, I must confess
that Anne of Green Gables: The Musical did not captivate me as did such
Chance triumphs as Into The Woods, Cabaret, and Sunday in the Park with
George. I would guess that those outside the show’s target audience may well
find it to be a bit of a yawn. But hey, the young girls who will eat up this
production wouldn’t have been able to sit through even half an hour of the edgy,
adult entertainment that makes the Chance a must-attend theater for me.
Lovers of Little Women, Little House on the Prairie, Pollyanna, and of course the
Anne Shirley books (that is to say the half of the human race who are sugar and
spice and everything nice), will adore the Chance’s Anne of Green Gables: The
Musical. For girls of all ages, this is first-rate holiday entertainment.
THE CHANCE THEATER: 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim, CA.
Through December 23, 2007; Thu., Fri. Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m.
For Information and to Purchase Tickets:
CALL: (714) 777-3033
WEBSITE: www.chancetheater.com
--Steven Stanley
November 25, 2007
Photos: Doug Catiller
