Theater Review: "Anne of Green Gables" at Goodspeed Musicals

East Haddam - If you would like to have bragging rights for seeing the world premiere of a new musical, Goodspeed Musicals is the place to go. The very new “Anne of Green Gables A New Musical” continues at the jewelbox Goodspeed Opera House through Sept. 4.

The musical was initially developed and produced by The Rev Theatre Company (formerly Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival) in July 2018. The book and lyrics were written by Matte O’Brien, with an eclectic mix of music by Matt Vinson.

Artistic Director Donna Lynn Hilton has been working to bring this musical adaptation of Anne’s story since early 2019 and is glad to finally welcome the all-female leadership of the show to Goodspeed. The musical is directed by Jenn Thompson (“The Music Man,” “Oklahoma!,” and “Bye, Bye Birdie,” all at Goodspeed.)

While the script holds very closely to the novel written by L.M. Montgomery, the look of the Goodspeed production veers toward more contemporary production values, with bold choreography, plenty of witty humor and the revolutionary spirit of Anne (with an “e.”)

For those unfamiliar with the classic novel set in the early 1900s, Anne Shirley has just arrived in the town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island and she does not exactly fit in. She is adopted by unmarried siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, who were expecting the orphanage to send a boy.

The talkative red-head is feisty, smart and trying to find her own place in the world, whether or not the world is ready for her.

The production team set out to have audiences fall in love with Anne Shirley, again or for the first time, so her story has been reimagined as a vibrant folk-rock musical intended for all generations. The musical begins with Anne as a young girl and she and her young friends close the first act with “Ashes of My Youth.” During intermission, she ages into a teenager at Queen's Academy to earn a teaching license.

Juliette Redden leads the Equity cast in the role of the dramatic Anne Shirley. Redden is a young actress with a strong singing voice who truly embodies the strong character.

Anne’s bosom buddy Diana Barry is played by Michelle Veintimilla (“The Visit” on Broadway) and she shines in the role. The autere Marilla Cuthbert is strongly portrayed by Sharon Catherine Brown.
The busybody neighbor Rachel Lynde is portrayed by Aurelia Williams. Gilbert Blythe as played by Pierre Marais (Broadway, National Tour of “Aladdin”) is handsome, intelligent and arrogant.

D.C. Anderson (Broadway, National Tour of “Phantom of the Opera” and “The Music Man” at Goodspeed) was brought in to play Matthew Cuthbert and should have been given more to do. Thankfully, he does get to perform a song in the first act, “Matthew’s Song,” but I longed for more interactions with the women in his life that he appears to fear.

The talented dancers and singers in the ensemble include Tristen Buettel, who appears at Josie Pye, Giovanni Da Silva, who plays Charlie Sloan, Amanda Ferguson, who plays both Mrs. Barry and MIss Stacy, Patrick Oliver Jones, who plays Mr. Blythe, Mr Phillips and Mr. Essenter, Nick Martinez, Jenna Lea Rosen, who plays Prissy Andrews, and Avery Sobczak, who plays Jude Andrews.

The scenic design by Wilson Chin is rustic and imaginative. Lots of wooden chairs allow the actors in the ensemble to sit on the edges of the stage and watch the action, but the seats often become components of the choreography. Two of them are actually hung on the back wall of the stage.

The choreography by Jennifer Jancuska, who served as dance supervisor for “Hamilton” on Broadway, is innovative and acrobatic, with tricky lifts and balancing, but, because the stage is so small, at times the dancing actually becomes distracting from the action center stage. Sound design by Jay Hilton worked for me.

Costume design by Tracy Christensen works because it is both true to the era and movement-friendly. Hair, wig and make-up design by J. Jared Janas manages to keep up as Anne grows up.

The orchestrations by Justin Goldner make all of the musical genres coalesce nicely when played by the eight talented musicians in the orchestra. The somewhat generically-named musical numbers, which are subject to change, add a lot to the two acts, with music direction by conductor Matthew Smedal and music supervision by Amanda Morton. There are some magnificent harmonies by the members of the ensemble.

I was blown away by the creative lighting design by Philip S. Rosenberg. There are spotlights that highlight the characters for important scenes, pinpoints of light for others and angry colors to enhance Anne’s intense dislike of Gilbert. All of it works well with the colorful strings of lights that hang above the front of the orchestra level.

My companion, a fan of the source material, loved everything about this adaptation. The non-alcoholic Shirley Temple available at the bar is really good. “Anne of Green Gables” continues Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (with select performances at 2:00 p.m.), Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (with select performances at 6:30 p.m.).

Tickets are available through the Box Office (860.873.8668), or online at goodspeed.org.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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