Customer Reviews

Anne Of Green Gables

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I picked up this CD for the Charlottetown Festival Production of "Anne of Green Gables" the night we saw the show at the Confederate Center of the Arts in Charlottetown Prince Edward Island in 2001 with Chilina Kennedy in the lead. The show has been running since 1965, which makes it Canada's longest running musical, and while the copyright on this CD is from 1984 it might have been recorded a bit earlier than that (Susan Cuthbert played Anne in the 1979 and 1980 productions, but I do not know if that means anything with regards to this recording). The music is by Norman Campbell with lyrics by Donald Harron, Norman Campbell, Mavor Moore, and Elaine Campbell. Obviously the show is adapted from the novel "Anne of Green Gables" by L.M. Montgomery, but it was also based on an earlier CBC television special.

In the little village of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island, the ladies of the church Auxiliary are working hard ("Great Workers for the Cause") when Matthew Cuthbert goes by in his buggy, dressed in his Sunday best, which bothers the ladies greatly ("Where is Matthew Going?"). Mrs. Lynde visits Marilla, Matthew's spinster sister, to get to the bottom of it. Meanwhile, Matthew arrives at the railway station to pick up an orphan boy from Nova Scotia only to discover Anne Shirley ("Gee, I'm Glad I'm No One Else But Me"). Matthew cannot tell the excited orphan that there has been a mistake made, but Marilla sets the record straight ("We Clearly Requested a Boy"). But when Marilla learns Anne's tragical history ("The Facts"), she has second thoughts.

However, Anne proves to be a handful. When Mrs. Lynde makes her "honest" comments about Anne's looks and red hair, Anne is equally honest. Matthew convinces Anne she should apologize ("Humble Pie"), and Anne floors Mrs. Lynde with her overly heartfelt apology ("Oh Mrs. Lynde"). Anne's first day at school is also a disaster, when Gilbert Blythe teases her about her hair and she breaks a slate over his head. This strange girl strikes Gilbert in more ways than one ("Wonderin'"). But Josie Pye, who wants Gilbert to be her beau, spreads an exaggerated version of the incident with the slate ("Did You Hear?"). Fortunately, Marilla learns the truth and Anne is able to go to the Sunday School picnic where she gets to have "Ice Cream" for the first time.

When the students return to school at the end of "Summer," Anne is still not speaking to Gilbert, but has become best friends with Diane Berry, who is truly a "Kindred Spirit." Anne flourishes in school under the new teacher, Miss Stacy ("Open the Window"), who encourages both Anne and Gilbert to compete for the same scholarship ("I'll Show Him"). For the school concert Matthew wants to buy Anne a dress with puffed sleeves, but has trouble getting the words out ("General Store"). Anne succeeds and everybody in town takes credit for what she has done ("If It Hadn't Been For Me"). Yet nothing matters more to Anne than what Matthew has to say to her before he dies ("Anne of Green Gables"). Marilla finally expresses how much she loved both her brother and Anne ("The Words"), while Anne and Gilbert finally become friends ("Wonderin' Reprise").

To tell you the truth, the chief attraction of the musical is actually the comedy and not the songs, which is pretty impressive when you consider that people who see it know the story of "Anne of Green Gables" inside and out. Susan Cuthbert makes a spunky Anne and her best numbers are the ones that bring out her comic flair (e.g., "Oh Mrs. Lynde"). In contrast Andrew MacBean as Gilbert Blythe sounds a bit older than Anne, but remember it is going to take her two more books to grow up enough to realize what everybody else in Avonlea knows, that she and Gilbert were born to be together (Check out the new "Anne & Gilbert" musical on CD for the rest of the story). Peter Mews plays Matthew and his character is more important than his singing, but he brings a wonderful poignancy to "Anne of Green Gables." My understanding is that Elizabeth Mawson was a legendary Marilla in the history of this production, and "The Words" tops anything Anne has to do in the show, but then it is Marilla's heart that has thawed the most in this story.

The net result is that this is an endearing little musical, full of charm and wit. All things considered it would be rated at 4.5 stars. If you have not seen then the show I would suspect that you would probably round down on your rating after listening to it, but if you have been fortunate enough to have seen it then you would have to round up simply because it keeps your memories alive. Anyone who travels to Prince Edward Island has to check out the house that has been restored as Green Gables and this musical. Everything else is negotiable.

I read the scrypt of a musucal version of Anne of Green Gables and wanted a CD of it. I asked for one and recieved this. I soon found out that it has nothing to bo with that version. This one is okay. The Anne is a bit old as a young Anne. Marilla has a wonderful operetic voice that is wonderful in her solo "I Can't Find The Words". Gilbert is also a good singer but nowhere close to wonderful! The chorus is good and full of life. Now we come to Matthew. He is the downfall of the CD. The solo he has is in the style of a Broadway ballet written for a tener. He is oviesly a country singer and the song is a bit too high for him. The CD in all is pretty good but when it comes to the booklet I was dissipointed. It dosn't have a cast list and is not very big at all. If you read the scene by scene provided you notice they cut funny and important parts in the story. But all in all it is a pretty good CD.