It is always difficult to analyze a show that is immortalized in your childhood, and such is the case for me with The Charlottetown Festival’s Production of the Norman Campbell/Don Harron musical Anne of Green Gables: the Musical. I first saw this production in 1994 and subsequently, I have seen the musical at least twenty times, in three different provinces, with at least six different actors portraying Canada’s favourite redheaded orphan. Vivid in my memory is a nine year old’s perception of an epic performance as Anne from Tracy Michailidis that revolutionized the way I went to the theatre and the tour-de-force exquisiteness of Elizabeth Mawson’s Marilla. How could another production compare to the definitive three seasons I spent watching Michailidis and Mawson weave magic? In 2002, after seeing a weary, sloppy matinee performance of Canada’s longest running musical I wondered if I would ever again love Anne ‘just this way’? Tonight, I sat in the Charlottetown Festival Theatre, hoping to be impressed.
This production began its run in Toronto (with few casting differences) at the Elgin Theatre in May, 2009. While it was there, Meghan Hubley wrote a guest review of the show for TWISI and cited Amy Wallis’ portrayal as Anne as being “refreshingly honest” and I would agree. Indeed, Wallis’ interpretation of the vibrant Anne Shirley is unlike any other I have ever seen. At the beginning of the show, Wallis’ Anne is twelve years old (as she is described as being in the novel). Unlike all the other actors I have seen who play Anne as a fanciful, passionate teenager, Wallis enters as a dramatic, imaginative, sometimes soft-spoken, inquisitive, child. Wallis creates two very clear worlds for her young Anne, the world of her dreams and her world of reality, and her vocal timbre and physicality shifts seamlessly between the two in a way that seems extremely natural for a child to behave (especially one who has been through all the emotional turmoil that Anne has). As the musical progresses, Wallis’ Anne matures and blossoms and her worlds begin to converge. It is beautiful to watch. She also has an unbelievably outstanding voice, which thrills especially in the song “Apology,” which she milks to absolute perfection as her soprano reverberates throughout the theatre as though it were a cathedral.
Charlotte Moore’s gossipy Rachel Lynde is spot-on, although as Moore seemed to subtly mirror Wallis’ actions, it made me wonder for the first time whether Rachel Lynde was once a girl not too dissimilar from Anne? Janet MacEwen seems perhaps a bit too stern even for the resolute matron of sensibility Marilla Cuthbert until you realize that the moment she relaxes her face she gives away the fact that she is a. drop-dead gorgeous and b. nowhere near sixty-five years old. (Can we talk about why all the drop-dead gorgeous actresses over thirty-five are suddenly deemed appropriate to play senior citizens!?). Still, her characterization of this classic spinster is a moving one, and she sings “The Words” (perhaps one of the world’s simplest, yet most heart-wrenching songs from a musical) with enough emotion to make an entire theatre snot-cry (to borrow a phrase from Sharron Matthews). Conversely, I didn’t get the impression that Sandy Winsby’s Matthew was necessarily as painstakingly shy as he is usually played, but more that he was delightfully eccentric; but that didn’t change how endearing his performance was or his sweet chemistry with Wallis.
As I said in my review for Anne and Gilbert, sometimes actors portray Josie Pye with an exuberance of sauciness and not enough heart. It is therefore glorious to watch Laura Mae Nason be as feisty and underhanded as this Pye demands, but also infuse her with an earnest sense of humanity. In this way, Nason seems to be a perfect counterpart as the younger self of the Josie Pye Natalie Sullivan portrays in Summerside.
Despite the fact that I have seen Anne of Green Gables: The Musical with over a dozen different casts, there is always one particular aspect of the show that boggles my mind and irks my soul. For the past fifteen years, I have continually seen Diana Barry portrayed (to varying degrees– Heidi Ford being the most charming) as a boisterous, over-the-top, exuberant girl who starts out so brazen and brash that the Raspberry Cordial scene loses it poignancy. I am so pleased to be able to say that there is no doubt that Alanna Chisholm is the best Diana I have ever seen. Chisholm plays Diana with the exact same sincerity and grounded humanity with which Wallis plays Anne. Here, Diana becomes a delight, and the kindred spirit friendship soars into bliss, and the Cordial scene becomes the most charming and the most hysterical in the show.
I was not as impressed with Sean Hauk’s Gilbert as I hoped to be, and found his chemistry with Wallis left something to be desired. I was saddened to have missed the incomparable Glenda Landry, who was out this evening, playing Mrs. Spencer in her remarkable 39th Season with the Festival. It was the first time I had ever seen the show without Landry in it and it simply wasn’t the same. Although, I must give some credit to Shawna van Omme, who I have seen play numerous parts in this production over the years and who is a lovely performer: I can imagine being Glenda Landry’s understudy must rank as one of the hardest jobs in the world.
In all, however, this production rejuvenated my faith in Anne’s ability to seem forever young and it justifies for me the need for this production to continue like clock-work each summer in Charlottetown despite that fact that change comes slow and infrequent, and every year the musical runs the risk of becoming outdated. Yet, Prince Edward Island is an entire province dedicated to harkening back to another time, and as long as Anne continues to endear herself to a new audience as she did to the residents of Green Gables, I, like Matthew, will implore this theatre to never change and allow Anne to stay on the island that holds her heart forever.
This production began its run in Toronto (with few casting differences) at the Elgin Theatre in May, 2009. While it was there, Meghan Hubley wrote a guest review of the show for TWISI and cited Amy Wallis’ portrayal as Anne as being “refreshingly honest” and I would agree. Indeed, Wallis’ interpretation of the vibrant Anne Shirley is unlike any other I have ever seen. At the beginning of the show, Wallis’ Anne is twelve years old (as she is described as being in the novel). Unlike all the other actors I have seen who play Anne as a fanciful, passionate teenager, Wallis enters as a dramatic, imaginative, sometimes soft-spoken, inquisitive, child. Wallis creates two very clear worlds for her young Anne, the world of her dreams and her world of reality, and her vocal timbre and physicality shifts seamlessly between the two in a way that seems extremely natural for a child to behave (especially one who has been through all the emotional turmoil that Anne has). As the musical progresses, Wallis’ Anne matures and blossoms and her worlds begin to converge. It is beautiful to watch. She also has an unbelievably outstanding voice, which thrills especially in the song “Apology,” which she milks to absolute perfection as her soprano reverberates throughout the theatre as though it were a cathedral.
Charlotte Moore’s gossipy Rachel Lynde is spot-on, although as Moore seemed to subtly mirror Wallis’ actions, it made me wonder for the first time whether Rachel Lynde was once a girl not too dissimilar from Anne? Janet MacEwen seems perhaps a bit too stern even for the resolute matron of sensibility Marilla Cuthbert until you realize that the moment she relaxes her face she gives away the fact that she is a. drop-dead gorgeous and b. nowhere near sixty-five years old. (Can we talk about why all the drop-dead gorgeous actresses over thirty-five are suddenly deemed appropriate to play senior citizens!?). Still, her characterization of this classic spinster is a moving one, and she sings “The Words” (perhaps one of the world’s simplest, yet most heart-wrenching songs from a musical) with enough emotion to make an entire theatre snot-cry (to borrow a phrase from Sharron Matthews). Conversely, I didn’t get the impression that Sandy Winsby’s Matthew was necessarily as painstakingly shy as he is usually played, but more that he was delightfully eccentric; but that didn’t change how endearing his performance was or his sweet chemistry with Wallis.
As I said in my review for Anne and Gilbert, sometimes actors portray Josie Pye with an exuberance of sauciness and not enough heart. It is therefore glorious to watch Laura Mae Nason be as feisty and underhanded as this Pye demands, but also infuse her with an earnest sense of humanity. In this way, Nason seems to be a perfect counterpart as the younger self of the Josie Pye Natalie Sullivan portrays in Summerside.
Despite the fact that I have seen Anne of Green Gables: The Musical with over a dozen different casts, there is always one particular aspect of the show that boggles my mind and irks my soul. For the past fifteen years, I have continually seen Diana Barry portrayed (to varying degrees– Heidi Ford being the most charming) as a boisterous, over-the-top, exuberant girl who starts out so brazen and brash that the Raspberry Cordial scene loses it poignancy. I am so pleased to be able to say that there is no doubt that Alanna Chisholm is the best Diana I have ever seen. Chisholm plays Diana with the exact same sincerity and grounded humanity with which Wallis plays Anne. Here, Diana becomes a delight, and the kindred spirit friendship soars into bliss, and the Cordial scene becomes the most charming and the most hysterical in the show.
I was not as impressed with Sean Hauk’s Gilbert as I hoped to be, and found his chemistry with Wallis left something to be desired. I was saddened to have missed the incomparable Glenda Landry, who was out this evening, playing Mrs. Spencer in her remarkable 39th Season with the Festival. It was the first time I had ever seen the show without Landry in it and it simply wasn’t the same. Although, I must give some credit to Shawna van Omme, who I have seen play numerous parts in this production over the years and who is a lovely performer: I can imagine being Glenda Landry’s understudy must rank as one of the hardest jobs in the world.
In all, however, this production rejuvenated my faith in Anne’s ability to seem forever young and it justifies for me the need for this production to continue like clock-work each summer in Charlottetown despite that fact that change comes slow and infrequent, and every year the musical runs the risk of becoming outdated. Yet, Prince Edward Island is an entire province dedicated to harkening back to another time, and as long as Anne continues to endear herself to a new audience as she did to the residents of Green Gables, I, like Matthew, will implore this theatre to never change and allow Anne to stay on the island that holds her heart forever.
Anne of Green Gables plays until September 26th, 2009 at the Confederation Centre for the Arts in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. For more information please visit www.confederationcentre.com.
