VOICE CHOICE

"A splendid adaptation.  A first-class production all round."

Director Kat Sandler's splendid adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery's 'Anne of Green Gables' is a welcome treat for a twenty-first-century audience, especially young people. If this Festival Commission inspires teenagers and young readers to read the classic novel, so much the better.

Sandler's inspired take on this iconic tale of Canadiana subtly draws the audience into the creative magic that is the theatre. I'm not a fan of the Avonlea series, but I liked this world premiere. This 'Anne' is a first-class production for families, children, and everyone. It becomes the reason why we attend the theatre.

What sets this 'Anne' apart and makes it creatively shine?

For one, instead of Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino's recorded pre-show welcome, the cast comes out to deliver it. There's a Canadian bonus as well: everyone in the auditorium stands and sings our national anthem. I miss doing that in public spaces. The second reason this adaptation works beautifully is that the audience is part of a large book club, and the actors look forward to whisking us back in time.

The theme of IMAGINATION becomes of prime importance in this opening matinée. Supporting performers skillfully function as a Greek chorus (and other characters) to help maintain the show's pacing.

Sandler chooses not to set this adaptation solely in the late 1800s.

That's a wise choice for a contemporary twenty-first-century audience.

Instead, Sandler seamlessly melds the past with the present, making it uniquely imaginative to watch how and when the characters transition. For instance, Maev Beaty (who plays Rachel Lynde), dressed in the appropriate era clothing, busily surveys the stage about five to seven minutes before the show begins informing 'Stage Manager' Josue Laboucane (who's dressed in twenty-first-century clothing) what she intends to do. And then she does it. Beaty's comic timing, which piques audience interest, is essential.

She's up for the challenge, and it comes across naturally.

The other actors come out in their contemporary clothing first to let us know they will be part of the process. They scatter, the scrim lifted, and the audience becomes transported back in time.

Clever indeed.

This 'Anne' is not the musical with which most audiences will be familiar. Instead, James Smith's compositions are used throughout to heighten dramatic and emotional purpose.

Lighting Designer Davida Tkach's nicely captures the Maritime sunlight of the 'Anne' story from the past. Joanna Yu's 余頌恩 set design of Matthew and Marilla's home is lovely, right down to the green gables on the house. Yu's late eighteenth-century costumes capture the colours and textures, most notably on the young girls' puffed sleeves (quite the fashion statement back then). Debashis Sinha perfectly captures the sounds reminiscent of the late 1800s (I love the sound of the horses' hooves).

Under Sandler's tender and kind direction, the performers become very real people both in the late 1800s and in 2025.

Caroline Toal is energetic, charismatic, and adorably impish as the mischievous protagonist, Anne Shirley. The signature pig tails and hat remain the same. Toal smartly develops Anne believably from a young girl to a young woman at the end of the play. One humorous moment that endears Anne to the audience is the time she and her best friend, Diana Barry (Julie Lumsden), get drunk while Marilla is off running errands and Matthew is working in the barn. Lumsden nicely plays off her counterpart's energy with conviction in this scene.

As siblings, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, Sarah Dodd and Tim Campbell capture the wonderfully irascible nature of an adult brother and sister who care about each other.  Dodd's Marilla is sharp and blunt, but it's necessary as work needs to be done daily around the house.  Campbell's Matthew comes across as a tad curmudgeonly when he realizes that it is a young girl, not a boy, he picks up at the station.

Yet Dodd and Campbell allow their physicality to show how their feelings for Anne have changed. Dodd's apology for the missing broach sounds heartfelt and genuine because Marilla did make a mistake in accusing Anne. Campbell's love is evident in his stance and gaze at Anne when she opens the dress with puffed sleeves that he has purchased for her.

Maev Beaty is a winning busybody as Matthew and Marilla's neighbour, Rachel Lynde. Jordin Hall's Gilbert Blythe is comically suave when he first sees Anne. Steven Hao's Jane Andrews amusingly pokes fun at how easily a boy can be seen and believed as a girl. Several of the quick roles Josue Laboucane certainly brought a smile to my face. In his role as a disciplinarian teacher, Mr. Phillips hilariously becomes the reminder of the out-of-control teacher who must use force to scare his young pupils into obeying.

Helen Belay's bullish Josie Pye also serves as a reminder of what young people had to endure and continue to endure in classrooms. Jennifer Villaverde's Prissy Andrews becomes that quiet eye who surveys and watches others. Laboucane's Mr. Phillips pays Prissy a tad too much attention in the classroom while ignoring the behaviour of the other students.

To me, a great deal of tender loving care has gone to ensure the success of this commission of 'Anne.' 

That care does show itself.

Sadler mentions in her Director's Programme Note: "With everything happening in the world, it has meant so much to us to spend time in a story that is all about love."

How timely this production of 'Anne of Green Gables' appears on one of Canada's influential regional theatre stages. Given the growing needless tension between Canada and the United States, stories like Anne remind us of something else Sadler says in her Programme Note: "Anne reminds us that if we can dream it, it can become reality."

Sadler doesn't sugarcoat the reality of 'Anne' in the twenty-first century. She presents the nature and personalities that we would encounter in the past and today.

Please go and see this adaptation of 'Anne of Green Gables.' Support Canadian artists, performers and Canadian theatre.

Running time: approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one 20-minute interval/intermission.

'Anne of Green Gables' runs until October 25 at the Stratford Festival's Avon Theatre. For tickets, stratfordfestival.ca or call 1-800-567-1600.

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
SCHULICH CHILDREN'S PLAYS
A new adaptation by Kat Sandler based on the novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery
A Stratford Festival Commission World Premiere

Directed by Kat Sandler
Set and Costume Designer: Joanna Yu余頌恩
Lighting Designer: Davida Tkach
Composer: James Smith
Sound Designer: Debashis Sinha
Movement Director: Julie Tomaino
Fight and Intimacy Director: Anita Nittoly
Assistant Director: Luke Reece
Stage Manager: Kim Lott
Production Stage Manager: Bona Duncan

Performers:  Maev Beaty, Helen Belay, Tim Campbell, Sarah Dodd, Jordin Hall, 郝邦宇Steven Hao, Josue Laboucane, Julie Lumsden, Caroline Toal, Jennifer Villaverde,