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Anne of Green Gables: The Musical
Oct. 26th, 2013 11:33 pmSo my birthday was yesterday, and I celebrated by going to see a musical! The local children's theatre company was putting on Anne of Green Gables, so I was curious, given that I loved the book as much as every other kid, but then I found out that Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford had written it, and I knew I had to go.
They wrote a great underrated little off-Broadway musical in the 60's, Now Is the Time For All Good Men, which I was really impressed with upon hearing the cast album, and after which I found out that it was also them who had written the songs for The American Girls Review. They're probably best known among musical theatre afficianados for I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road (which was just revived at City Center Encores this year!) and for being one of the few female composer/writer duos out there.
I figured Anne was in good hands with these ladies, and I was right. It's not an amazing score, but definitely a good one, and a good solid adaptation that understood the spirit of the story perfectly. A gentle, sweet tone to the score, with the book scenes either very funny, or very heartfelt. I honestly had to fight really hard not to cry in many places, since Anne of Green Gables is one of those iconic childhood stories that will always strike right at your heart if it's done well.
I was really impressed with the production itself as well, the flowers and trees all around, lovely lighting and clever effects like showers of leaves and snow to show the changing of seasons, really helped create the mood of connection to the earth that's such an important part of L.M. Montgomery's novels. The little lanterns hung from the trees and the swing used in various musical numbers for Anne or Diana or Gilbert to swing on were particularly nice touches. The actors playing the children were all probably almost out of high school, but it didn't matter, I think the whole cast was quite good and brought it to life very well.
Overall, it was just what you'd want it to be, and I'm very glad I went. And while I can't imagine a better production, I really do hope the show gets produced in as many places as possible, since it would be a wonderful way to get kids interested in musical theatre, and a perfect piece of happy nostalgia for those of us who grew up loving the book. Highly recommended! :)
They wrote a great underrated little off-Broadway musical in the 60's, Now Is the Time For All Good Men, which I was really impressed with upon hearing the cast album, and after which I found out that it was also them who had written the songs for The American Girls Review. They're probably best known among musical theatre afficianados for I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road (which was just revived at City Center Encores this year!) and for being one of the few female composer/writer duos out there.
I figured Anne was in good hands with these ladies, and I was right. It's not an amazing score, but definitely a good one, and a good solid adaptation that understood the spirit of the story perfectly. A gentle, sweet tone to the score, with the book scenes either very funny, or very heartfelt. I honestly had to fight really hard not to cry in many places, since Anne of Green Gables is one of those iconic childhood stories that will always strike right at your heart if it's done well.
I was really impressed with the production itself as well, the flowers and trees all around, lovely lighting and clever effects like showers of leaves and snow to show the changing of seasons, really helped create the mood of connection to the earth that's such an important part of L.M. Montgomery's novels. The little lanterns hung from the trees and the swing used in various musical numbers for Anne or Diana or Gilbert to swing on were particularly nice touches. The actors playing the children were all probably almost out of high school, but it didn't matter, I think the whole cast was quite good and brought it to life very well.
Overall, it was just what you'd want it to be, and I'm very glad I went. And while I can't imagine a better production, I really do hope the show gets produced in as many places as possible, since it would be a wonderful way to get kids interested in musical theatre, and a perfect piece of happy nostalgia for those of us who grew up loving the book. Highly recommended! :)
