By Nadine Moedt (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: June 18, 2014
Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables novel was rejected by five publishers over a period of two years before finding success in 1908. Seven books later and over 50 million copies sold, Anne has become an icon, the Huckleberry Finn of the Canadian East Coast.
Anne’s whimsy and moxie has its place next to Alice of Alice in Wonderland. She isn’t the cutesy precocious child of Family Circus, but rather the young fearlessness of Ludwig Bemelmans’ Madeline. Can Anne be captured anywhere else but in the safe pages of Montgomery’s novels?
As part of its 2013/14 “spice of life” season, Gallery 7 Theatre featured Canadian playwright Paul Ledoux’s adaptation of Anne in an attempt to find out. The two-and-a-half-hour production had a warm audience, who anticipated Anne’s various mishaps with presumptive chuckles.
Anne features an intimate cast of eight. Danielle Warmenhoven, a familiar face from the UFV theatre department, played the apple-cheeked Anne with her usual easy charm. Warmenhoven’s Anne is believable; she is vocally introspective and a pleasure to watch.
While Anne shone, her rival and love interest Gilbert Blythe’s character was a little neglected and felt colourless. Anne’s friends repeat that they could “never resist” Gilbert, which has those in the audience who haven’t read Montgomery’s novel wondering why. Gilbert’s major contribution to my favourite scene did have me forgiving his flat character, as he is comically hit over the head with a chalkboard slate by a furious Anne.
The play borders on the overly sweet, but Catrina Jackson’s performance of the acid-tongued Josie Pye comes to the rescue with some well-delivered snide comments to diffuse any stickiness. Marilla further added some humour at the expense of others, and while her attempt at being stern came across as simply an overly enunciated delivery, her moments of dry wit came as a welcome surprise.
Anne hits on all Montgomery’s most beloved scenes: Anne accidently getting her friend drunk on what should have been raspberry cordial; her dramatic and sorrowful apology to the delightful gossip Rachel Lynde; the saga of the missing brooch; and her various failed attempts to play the romantic.
As if things weren’t Canadian enough, Canuck singer-songwriter Stan Rogers was played between sets, lending a quaint small-town rustic feel to each scene.
The play attempted to frame Anne’s childhood with brief scenes years later. Although the transition from children to young adults was smoothed by a clever wardrobe change, the “do you remember” ledes felt forced, and a little awkward. The audience clearly didn’t need the background filler, but no one seemed to mind.
Gallery 7’s attempt to capture all that is Anne Shirley relies a little on the audience’s already established love of Mongomery’s Anne of Green Gables. While the play-goer who hasn’t read the novel may miss out on some of the nostalgia, the direction does a fine job at catching up without over-explaining. Anne’s charm and simplicity makes this an excellent choice for a night out with family.
