Anne Sings, But She Can't Carry a Tune

Trips down to the Village usually involve trendy shopping and chic boutiques, but from now until May 5, they might also involve a trip through the world of Avonlea in the new musical adaptation of Anne of Green Gables at the quaint Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village.

Anne of Green Gables was originally published in 1908 and has entertained generations of children for 100 years. It follows the adventures of Anne Shirley (played by Piper Goodeve), an orphan who is adopted by an elderly brother and sister, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert (played by Bethe Austin and Erick Devine, respectively). Over the course of the eight-book series, Anne transforms from a waifish, lost orphan into a mature, grown woman, with the help of the inhabitants of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. Fans of Anne of Green Gables beware-this musical is a liberal interpretation of L.M. Montgomery's beloved book. While the characters and some plot lines are the same, the short nature of the show (running time is 90 minutes) makes compression inevitable. The creative team did not merely cut out some irrelevant scenes from the novel-they extended the show through the second book of the series. The show stays true to the classic in tone, but fans will be a little disappointed if they expect to see a replica of the book.

The performance itself was uneven, starting right at the beginning with the overture. As the lights dimmed, the orchestra began to play light, whimsical, floating melodies that perfectly fit the tone of the books. But the music in the overture did not necessarily predict the melodies of the actual songs. The two best songs of the show, both in terms of their performance and their relation to the book, were the duets between the romantic leads, Anne and Gilbert (Andrew Gehling). These songs, "Two Weeks" and "It's Nice to Know," contained the soaring melodies found in the overture. Some of the other songs were also good, but these were mostly the comedic songs, such as "I Can Stay." Unfortunately, the show also contains a truly irritating song titled "The Clock Keeps Ticking"-the most notable antithesis to the uplifting tunes of other songs.

The biggest flaw in the performance, in contrast to the novel, was in the character of Anne. When the book begins, Anne is supposed to be 11 years old, but in the musical adaptation it is unclear. This is due mostly to the compression of so many years into the short running time of the musical. Additionally, it fails to capture the endearing nature of Anne's character-she comes across as annoying and brash. These characteristics are evident in the novel, but they are just complexities of her charming personality rather than all-consuming features of her character. Goodeve facilitates this interpretation by frequently adopting a strange look-almost like a wide-eyed "blue steel"-to stare at other characters or the audience. It's laughable at times, but truly annoying at others.

The choreography left something to be desired, to put it kindly. The storyline is not very conducive to dancing and the cheesy moves (jazz squares included) in numbers such as "It's the Strangest Thing" gave the entire show an amateur feel.

While the show definitely had its problems, overall it was entertaining. The musical did not follow the book exactly, yet the spirit of Anne of Green Gables was evident. Fans and non-fans alike will be able to enjoy a pleasant evening on Prince Edward Island-as long as they don't expect too much.

Trips down to the Village usually involve trendy shopping and chic boutiques, but from now until May 5, they might also involve a trip through the world of Avonlea in the new musical adaptation of Anne of Green Gables at the quaint Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village.

Anne of Green Gables was originally published in 1908 and has entertained generations of children for 100 years. It follows the adventures of Anne Shirley (played by Piper Goodeve), an orphan who is adopted by an elderly brother and sister, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert (played by Bethe Austin and Erick Devine, respectively). Over the course of the eight-book series, Anne transforms from a waifish, lost orphan into a mature, grown woman, with the help of the inhabitants of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. Fans of Anne of Green Gables beware-this musical is a liberal interpretation of L.M. Montgomery's beloved book. While the characters and some plot lines are the same, the short nature of the show (running time is 90 minutes) makes compression inevitable. The creative team did not merely cut out some irrelevant scenes from the novel-they extended the show through the second book of the series. The show stays true to the classic in tone, but fans will be a little disappointed if they expect to see a replica of the book.

The performance itself was uneven, starting right at the beginning with the overture. As the lights dimmed, the orchestra began to play light, whimsical, floating melodies that perfectly fit the tone of the books. But the music in the overture did not necessarily predict the melodies of the actual songs. The two best songs of the show, both in terms of their performance and their relation to the book, were the duets between the romantic leads, Anne and Gilbert (Andrew Gehling). These songs, "Two Weeks" and "It's Nice to Know," contained the soaring melodies found in the overture. Some of the other songs were also good, but these were mostly the comedic songs, such as "I Can Stay." Unfortunately, the show also contains a truly irritating song titled "The Clock Keeps Ticking"-the most notable antithesis to the uplifting tunes of other songs.

The biggest flaw in the performance, in contrast to the novel, was in the character of Anne. When the book begins, Anne is supposed to be 11 years old, but in the musical adaptation it is unclear. This is due mostly to the compression of so many years into the short running time of the musical. Additionally, it fails to capture the endearing nature of Anne's character-she comes across as annoying and brash. These characteristics are evident in the novel, but they are just complexities of her charming personality rather than all-consuming features of her character. Goodeve facilitates this interpretation by frequently adopting a strange look-almost like a wide-eyed "blue steel"-to stare at other characters or the audience. It's laughable at times, but truly annoying at others.

The choreography left something to be desired, to put it kindly. The storyline is not very conducive to dancing and the cheesy moves (jazz squares included) in numbers such as "It's the Strangest Thing" gave the entire show an amateur feel.

While the show definitely had its problems, overall it was entertaining. The musical did not follow the book exactly, yet the spirit of Anne of Green Gables was evident. Fans and non-fans alike will be able to enjoy a pleasant evening on Prince Edward Island-as long as they don't expect too much.