ARTS/ ENTERTAINMENT – WCT’s Anne of Green Gables a Broadway quality hit

By MEL ROTHENBURGER

YOU NEVER KNOW what you’re going to get from Western Canada Theatre. It could be a dud like Women of the Fur Trade or three hours of hilarious and touching entertainment like the musical Anne of Green Gables.

The latter is at the Sagebrush through Dec. 7 and if you don’t have tickets yet, get them if you can. Big musicals are what WCT does best. Mamma Mia, Fiddler on the Roof and Million Dollar Quartet come to mind.

This is the second time WCT has produced Anne of Green Gables. The first was 50 years ago, so now, on the 50^th anniversary of the theatre company’s start, is an appropriate time to bring it back.

There are no weak spots in this production of Anne. The cast is outstanding. From acting to dancing to singing, they nail it. Kyra Leroux, a 5 ft. two inch, 23-year-old from Vancouver, plays the young “Anne with an E” to absolute perfection.

She brings an undeniable joy to her character, a fiery, temperamental and just plan funny orphan with a major imagination who is taken in by a Prince Edward Island brother and sister who wanted a boy to help out on their farm. Instead, they got Anne, and she turns out to be a lot more than they bargained for.

There are laughs galore thanks to the clever dialogue and the nuanced delivery of the cast. Be prepared, as well, to shed a tear or two at the end. If you know the Anne of Green Gables storyline, you know what I mean.

Speaking of which, Andrew Wheeler is a pleasure to watch as Matthew Cuthbert, the aging farmer who works the bright red mud of PEI with his sister Marilla, played by Caitriona Murphy. Wheeler is totally at home in his character, a curmudgeonly but caring man who readily accepts Anne into his home and becomes her father figure.

It’s nice to see some locals in the cast, as well, and the musicians in the orchestra pit never hit a bad note.

The entire production is impressively tight knit, and the spartan set works to show off the talents of the cast rather than being a distraction.

Rarely does this community have an opportunity to enjoy a stage production of this calibre, and it’s not an exaggeration to say WCT’s Anne of Green Gables is Broadway quality.

Book by DONALD HARRON
Music by NORMAN CAMPBELL
Based on the book by L.M. MONTGOMERY
Directed by ERIN McGRATH | Choreography by VALERIE EASTON
Music Direction by CLARE WYATT