TORONTO—Canada’s longest running musical also tells the story of one of Canada’s most beloved heroines, Anne Shirley. The musical, which has been performing for four and a half decades at the Confederation Theatre, in Charlottetown, PEI has visited Toronto for a limited engagement from May 7-24.
The story of the red-haired orphan girl has fascinated Canadians and people around the world since 1908 when Lucy Maud Montgomery, a schoolteacher from Prince Edward Island, published her novel Anne of Green Gables. Despite being rejected by publishers for three years, the book was an instant success, and more than 100 years later (the book celebrated its centenary last year) Anne has sold tens of millions of copies, has been translated into over 36 languages, and has been featured in several films, books, TV miniseries, and animated versions.
Aubrey Dan, president and founder of Dancap Productions, helped bring the show to Toronto for the first time in 18 years. At the opening night on May 13, he greeted an audience that included former cast members and creators. “You’re in for a magical night,” announced Dan who stepped on stage wearing Anne’s trademark red pigtails.
This was also a particularly special occasion for Kate MacDonald Butler, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s granddaughter. It was in Toronto that she first saw Anne of Green Gables as an 8-year-old girl, and got to meet the cast after slipping the usher a note her father had written stating she was the author’s granddaughter.
“It’s really exciting to be here tonight,” said MacDonald Butler who came accompanied by her 94-year old mother. “This [the musical] is a wonderful interpretation,” said MacDonald Butler, adding that she was particularly happy to see L.M. Montgomery’s words in the script.
The show’s return to Toronto was also a special occasion for Prince Edward Island, Montgomery’s native province where the musical has been based since its premiere in 1965. The province’s culture minister Carolyn Bertram personally came to deliver the premier’s greetings. “Anne of Green Gables is very near and dear to all the hearts of islanders,” she said.
The musical, like the book, also has an extraordinary Canadian pedigree. The Anne of Green Gables-The Musical was created by veteran entertainer Don Harron (The Don Harron Show, Charlie Farquharson and Dem Udders) and Emmy award winning composer and producer Norman Campbell with lyrics by Elaine Campbell and producer Mavor Moore. It was originally created as a black and white TV show on CBC, and its theme song was performed at the opening of the Confederation Theatre in Charlottetown. In the audience was Queen Elizabeth II who loved the song so much that she suggested to the show’s creators that it be turned into a full-length stage musical. After premiering in 1965, the musical has remained the pride of the Confederation Theatre, but has also been performed across North America, London and Japan reaching a total audience of over 3 million. The Queen attended the show in London and also came back in the 70s to PEI to see it.
The story of Anne of Green Gables is familiar to most Canadians. When elderly brother and sister Matthew and Marilla decide to adopt a boy to help them on the farm, little do they expect to meet a bright, yet talkative 11 year old girl by the name of Anne Shirley. Charmed by the girl’s imagination and optimism, and saddened by her difficult life, the two decide to keep Anne, a decision that will alter life in the little village of Avonlea. With her feisty spirit, kindness, and imagination, Anne’s charm brightens the often rigidly conservative village, and so gains the love and acceptance she had longed for.
Since its publication, Anne of Green Gables has become an intricate part of the Canadian cultural fabric. Capturing rural life in 19th century Canada, the novel deals with a variety of issues confronting Canadians at the time, including religion, child rearing, community and individualism; but it is its universal appeal to the power of honesty, goodness, and optimism to overcome the odds that makes Anne such an enduring novel.
“It’s a story as old as Cinderella,” says the musical’s writer Don Harron. “It’s about somebody who’s down on their luck and ends up a winner.” Harron, who has been working on the musical for the past 54 years, and had originally been enthused at the idea the show would run for two years, is still amazed at the show’s impact. In an interview with The Epoch Times, he recalled one of the performances.
“Last Thursday, I saw the oldest ladies I’ve ever seen come in with their walkers and they stacked them up against the wall like bicycles in Switzerland. They came in with what must have been their great grandchildren. It was wonderful– the continuity.”
Anne, however, has not only inspired generations of Canadians, but also generations around the world. A year after the publication of Anne of Green Gables in 1908, the book had already been translated into Swedish. The book was also wartime favourite in Poland, with its popularity inspiring a hit musical The Blue Castle in the 1980s, which was based on another story by Montgomery.
In Japan, generations of school children have studied the bright, imaginative Anne since the book was incorporated into the curriculum in 1952. The Japanese version of the musical has also been a hit. Every year, thousands of Japanese tourists come to PEI to visit the Anne of Green Gables home in the village Cavendish and to see the musical in Charlottetown. Many couples even come to remarry on the island. “It’s truly inspiring, and it brings joy, so much joy to people,” said Kate MacDonald Butler who is touched by the effect the book has had on people, “When they see me, a warm look comes across their face, and their eyes twinkle and they say, “Do you have any idea how special this book is to me?”
Anne of Green Gables-The Musical returns home to the Confederation Theatre in Charlottetown to begin its 45th season from June 18-September 26. There are already plans in the works for the 50th anniversary celebration.
The story of the red-haired orphan girl has fascinated Canadians and people around the world since 1908 when Lucy Maud Montgomery, a schoolteacher from Prince Edward Island, published her novel Anne of Green Gables. Despite being rejected by publishers for three years, the book was an instant success, and more than 100 years later (the book celebrated its centenary last year) Anne has sold tens of millions of copies, has been translated into over 36 languages, and has been featured in several films, books, TV miniseries, and animated versions.
Aubrey Dan, president and founder of Dancap Productions, helped bring the show to Toronto for the first time in 18 years. At the opening night on May 13, he greeted an audience that included former cast members and creators. “You’re in for a magical night,” announced Dan who stepped on stage wearing Anne’s trademark red pigtails.
This was also a particularly special occasion for Kate MacDonald Butler, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s granddaughter. It was in Toronto that she first saw Anne of Green Gables as an 8-year-old girl, and got to meet the cast after slipping the usher a note her father had written stating she was the author’s granddaughter.
“It’s really exciting to be here tonight,” said MacDonald Butler who came accompanied by her 94-year old mother. “This [the musical] is a wonderful interpretation,” said MacDonald Butler, adding that she was particularly happy to see L.M. Montgomery’s words in the script.
The show’s return to Toronto was also a special occasion for Prince Edward Island, Montgomery’s native province where the musical has been based since its premiere in 1965. The province’s culture minister Carolyn Bertram personally came to deliver the premier’s greetings. “Anne of Green Gables is very near and dear to all the hearts of islanders,” she said.
The musical, like the book, also has an extraordinary Canadian pedigree. The Anne of Green Gables-The Musical was created by veteran entertainer Don Harron (The Don Harron Show, Charlie Farquharson and Dem Udders) and Emmy award winning composer and producer Norman Campbell with lyrics by Elaine Campbell and producer Mavor Moore. It was originally created as a black and white TV show on CBC, and its theme song was performed at the opening of the Confederation Theatre in Charlottetown. In the audience was Queen Elizabeth II who loved the song so much that she suggested to the show’s creators that it be turned into a full-length stage musical. After premiering in 1965, the musical has remained the pride of the Confederation Theatre, but has also been performed across North America, London and Japan reaching a total audience of over 3 million. The Queen attended the show in London and also came back in the 70s to PEI to see it.
‘Anne’ at Home and Abroad
The story of Anne of Green Gables is familiar to most Canadians. When elderly brother and sister Matthew and Marilla decide to adopt a boy to help them on the farm, little do they expect to meet a bright, yet talkative 11 year old girl by the name of Anne Shirley. Charmed by the girl’s imagination and optimism, and saddened by her difficult life, the two decide to keep Anne, a decision that will alter life in the little village of Avonlea. With her feisty spirit, kindness, and imagination, Anne’s charm brightens the often rigidly conservative village, and so gains the love and acceptance she had longed for.
Since its publication, Anne of Green Gables has become an intricate part of the Canadian cultural fabric. Capturing rural life in 19th century Canada, the novel deals with a variety of issues confronting Canadians at the time, including religion, child rearing, community and individualism; but it is its universal appeal to the power of honesty, goodness, and optimism to overcome the odds that makes Anne such an enduring novel.
“It’s a story as old as Cinderella,” says the musical’s writer Don Harron. “It’s about somebody who’s down on their luck and ends up a winner.” Harron, who has been working on the musical for the past 54 years, and had originally been enthused at the idea the show would run for two years, is still amazed at the show’s impact. In an interview with The Epoch Times, he recalled one of the performances.
“Last Thursday, I saw the oldest ladies I’ve ever seen come in with their walkers and they stacked them up against the wall like bicycles in Switzerland. They came in with what must have been their great grandchildren. It was wonderful– the continuity.”
Anne, however, has not only inspired generations of Canadians, but also generations around the world. A year after the publication of Anne of Green Gables in 1908, the book had already been translated into Swedish. The book was also wartime favourite in Poland, with its popularity inspiring a hit musical The Blue Castle in the 1980s, which was based on another story by Montgomery.
In Japan, generations of school children have studied the bright, imaginative Anne since the book was incorporated into the curriculum in 1952. The Japanese version of the musical has also been a hit. Every year, thousands of Japanese tourists come to PEI to visit the Anne of Green Gables home in the village Cavendish and to see the musical in Charlottetown. Many couples even come to remarry on the island. “It’s truly inspiring, and it brings joy, so much joy to people,” said Kate MacDonald Butler who is touched by the effect the book has had on people, “When they see me, a warm look comes across their face, and their eyes twinkle and they say, “Do you have any idea how special this book is to me?”
Anne of Green Gables-The Musical returns home to the Confederation Theatre in Charlottetown to begin its 45th season from June 18-September 26. There are already plans in the works for the 50th anniversary celebration.
