Anne of Green Gables

Director Nancy Briggs and Asst. Dir. Kathy Kosevar

FALL -. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (Comedy) by Alice Chadwick from the book by Lucy Maude Montgomery.
Auditions: July 17-18
Performances: Sept. 14-16, 21-24, 28- 30.

Directed by ...........Nancy Briggs
A well-loved story, full of warmth and wit about the elderly brother and sister who take in 13 year old Anne Shirley to work on their farm. Anne touches lovable Matthew with her vivid imagination and her charitable viewpoint, but it takes time to win the tender heart of Marilla, hidden under her stern exterior. The story is set on Prince Edward Island and covers a period of three years. The play has immense appeal to children, adolescents and adults, both as cast members and as audience.

Reviews

Production Staff

Director... Nancy Briggs
Mentor... Mike Kelly
Co-Asst. Director..Kathy Kocevar
Co-Asst. Director.. Phil Murphy
Co-Producer...Jean Friday
Co-Produser...Rae Berden
Stage Manager...Dick Cieslik
Asst. Stage Mgr....Maxine Rideout
Asst. Stage Mgr...Chad Hall
Light Design & Oper...Marty Phillips
Sound..,. Casey Wolf
Stage Design...Bubba Anderson
Set Construction...Al Lien
            Joe Whall
            Jeff Kroeger
Props Mistress...Clare Shipstead
Stage Decorator....
Asst. Stage Decorator...Kathy Newman
Artistic Stage Painter...Melissa Grayson
Costumes...
  Assistant...Kathy Verstreate
  Assistant...Jan Meyers
Publicity Help...Kris Hains
Make-up...
Hair Design...Ginger Hardy
House Manager...Hedges MacDonald
House Manager...Brad Lewis
Graphic Design...Stacey Griffith
Board Laison...Cindy Leo

Cast list

Anne Shirley....Shelby Lewis
Marilla Cuthbert....Elly Stevens
Matthew Cuthbert...Ron Stevens
Diana Barry...Crystal Lane
Josie Pye...Nan Karczewski
Actor's journal................Gilbert Blythe...T.J.Berde
Moody Spurgeon...Baylee Miller
Florence Remsen...Delphine Welch
Minnie Stearn...Ann Norris Levine
Mrs. Alexander Spencer...Linda Mann
Mrs. Barry...Stacey Griffith
Mrs. Rachel Lynde...Kasy Kilpatrick
Actor's journal.............Mrs Allan...Leana Schlueter
Ira Mills...Chuck Barnell

Journals:

Leana Schlueter

OTP journal entry/August 28, 2000/"Anne of Green Gables"
 
Yikes!  Am I ever rusty in the acting arena.  Though I've never been spectacular to begin with, factor in 13 years of being away from the stage.  I dabbled briefly in the arts at Michigan Technological University, stage managing "Three Penny Opera" in 1991, but that's been it.  Yes, I'm extremely nervous tonight--but I have to forget about all the seasoned veterans dropping in to watch rehearsals, and just focus on what Phil is saying.  It's a good thing we have him to keep us on our toes while Nancy and Kathy are away.
 I came to auditions to volunteer to help Kathy V. with costumes, and wound up with a part.  My role is small, but so much fun. This cast puts me at ease.  They are a warm and funny group.  I am amazed at the talent exuding from the young kids.  I can learn a great deal from them.
 I enjoy getting nostalgic about my earlier years in our beloved OTP; but, I'm also ready to learn something new about myself in the here and now.
"Anne of Green Gables" 

journal entry/Sept. 1, 2000:

 
One good thing about having a small part--it leaves time for a journal.  Of the many things I can list that I did at OTP in the late 1980's, I have nothing to show for any of them (though the memories are quite fond).  So, this is my gift to my 2 year old son, Cameron (as well as to myself).
Last night I sat around half the night working through my scenes in my mind and listening for my cue.  I missed it.  I was listening for the wrong cue. Pre-opening jitters?  Maybe so.  I don't mind having an "off" night, as long as it's before opening.  You know how you get a song stuck in your head until it makes you crazy?  Last night I dreamed I was delivering the same line over, and over, and over...This journal does help to relieve the stress, though.  Speaking of which, Don did emphasize brevity as key to these entries...OOPS...
 

journal entry/September 10, 2000:

 
I've been simply too tired of late to submit any journal entries, until tonight.  Since we've begun rehearsing this show, I've gone through all the emotions you don't want to feel.  I've been unsure of myself, nervous, stressed, you name it.  But about halfway through today a calm washed over me and I had renewed energy, with the accompanying feeling that it was all going to come together and be really good.  The more time I spend with this cast, the more I see how special they are.  It's not only a good group of actors, from which I draw energy, but they are truly good people.  I never worried about their performance, only my ability to keep up my end of the bargain.  After today I feel I can--and will.

Journal Entry/Sept. 16, 2000:

Well, it seemed quite a long and rough road at times, but we pulled it all together and have had a most memorable opening weekend so far.  I personally was not comfortable with my scenes until the last dress rehearsal last Wed.  I'm so proud of this cast.  Last night we proved time and again that we really are there in support of each other. 
A standing ovation two consecutive nights--wow!  Thanks again to the "Green Acres" cast and crew!
 

 

  T.J. Berden    

Sept. 1st

WOW! 2 weeks before the big opening night! This is my first production at O.T.P, I play Gilbert (Anne's love interest). It's really crazy down here at 8th and Cass, though I'm sure all productions get a little hectic around this time. People are all around trying to together everything ready for the big night.....well the 11 big nights!  We have a great crew so I'm sure everything will turn out great.  Did I mention our cast?  FANTASTIC!  I'm so happy that O.T.P  decided to get some (non musical) play with teens in the cast!  It's a blast. We have 5 teens, and probably 11 adults, it's a great experience to work with actors, other than just you age group.  That's what happens with high school productions, you are stuck in one age group to play a vast variety of age groups, but now....we have adults playing adults!  I can't wait to see this whole thing come together, and I know you can't either!  SO GET YOUR TICKETS!
Next week, after the holiday we have our first run throughs as a full cast!  Then we have the weekend off, then we come back for dress rehearsals and
then, we do it!  WOW! I better go look over my lines!  Until next time...............
                                                            T.J. Berden
OH WHAT A NIGHT!
Here it is, the day all of us had been working for and striving to get to for 2 months. 30 minutes, that's all we have, and all the hours of blocking with Phil, matters no more! It is now all on us, the actor's shoulders! What pressure, but I personally feed off that, it's what gets me up there on that stage, doing what I love.
Dress Rehearsal, the night before, wasn't our best, and we had our reviewer, Nancy Sundstrum there! Ahhh!  But it probably wasn't that bad, and now there
is no more room for mistakes, no calling for line, no asking the directors for help.......So, what do you do when your about to make 2 months worth of
work come alive?
THE CHICKEN DANCE!!!  The whole cast danced, and had a blast doing it, thanks to Casey Wolf who bought the C.D.
Now, with Nancy Briggs giving us some last minute advice, we prepared to put on the show that nobody thought would happen. BUT IT DID!  What a success
too! We opened to almost a full house, the audience was great, they let us be natural, and the words flowed, and the cues were hit, and the set was moved,
like a tightly choreographed dance number (which sadly there are none of in this show)
So with 1 show down, we have 10 more to go.......so if you come to see us, and you hear the faint noise of  the "chicken dance," DANCE!  Because, everyone
else is!
T.J. Berden (GILBERT)

 

Review, Record-Eagle, September 16, 2000, Nancy Sundstrum.

A visit to Canada's Prince Edward Island kicked off Old Town Playhouse's 41st season as the endearing children's story of "Anne of Green Gables" came to life with an opening on Thursday night.

Adapted by Alice Chadwicke from the classic 1908 book by Lucy Maude Montgomery, "Anne" is the story of an unpredictable and wildly imaginative orphan who is sent to live with a crusty  bother and sister duo who are looking for help on their farm.

 
The disruption of their orderly lives occurs from the first moments of Anne' s arrival.  Anne, they discover, is not the sturdy male youth they were expecting, but a dramatic and animated teenaged girl.  Matthew is taken with her free spirit and compassion, but his stern sister Marilla is less convinced, especially when Anne speaks her mind to a busybody neighbor and then enters an impassioned plea for forgiveness and the chance to stay at their farm, all within her first 10 minutes there.  Gradually, she wins a permanent place in their hearts, and becomes an integral part of the community as she grows to young adulthood.
 
Chadwicke's dramatization of the story is a serviceable one, though it shortchanges the original novel in the dramatic, later developments, which blur past at a dizzying pace in the play's final moments.  Its concentration is on Anne's early years at Green Gables, and the growth of her relationship with the community around her, most of whom are as colorful as Anne.
 
First-time director Nancy Briggs found a jewel in Shelby Lewis as Anne. Lewis embraces the role with gusto and captures Anne's exuberance, holding her own on a stage of seasoned performers.  Her Anne is an "in your face" one, literally, and Lewis might do well to back off a bit from constantly moving into the space of other performers and clutching onto them, which distracts from her heartfelt performance.
 
Elly and Ron Stevens play Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, who grow in their own right because of Anne's influence.  Elly's Marilla is just right, balanced between tolerant and cantankerous, and her relationship with Matthew feels weathered and comfortable, particularly in their bantering. Two of their neighbors, Mrs. Barry (Stacey Griffith) and the local busybody Rachel Lynde (Kasey Kilpatrick), figure prominently in the action, and both actresses make the most of their moments.
 
Anne's friends are ably played by a talented group of young performers, and it is refreshing to see  OTP offering opportunities for actors of this age. Crystal Lane is Anne's best friend, Diana, Nan Karczewski is an appropriately meddlesome and obnoxious Josie Pye, T. J. Berden is the earnest suitor Gilbert Blythe, and Baylee Miller is Moody Spurgeon.

The supporting cast includes Delphine Welch (notable as Florence Remsen, the empathic mistress of the orphanage), Ann Norris Levine, Linda Mann, Leana

Schlueter, and Chuck Barnell.

On dress rehearsal night, there was a certain disjointedness in the flow of the play, which moved quite slowly in sections over its two-and-one-half-hour run.  Sometimes this was due to the dropping of lines, and sometimes to the frequently awkward staging, which has characters wedging themselves or hidden behind furniture, and entering and exiting from unlikely sources.

 
Other technical credits are generally solid, especially the stage design by Bubba Anderson, which is "sumptuous," to use one of Anne's terms, as is the set decoration.  Lighting Designer Marty Phillips and costumers Kathy Verstraete and Jan Meyers help create the turn-of-the-century atmosphere.
 
"Anne of Green Gables" runs September 15-30, with show times at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday-Saturday, and  Sunday matinees at 3:00 p.m.  Tickets are $13, with
student and senior rates available for $11 on Thursdays.  For information or reservations, call (231) 947-2443 or visit the OTP Box Office located at 128 East Eighth Street at Cass in Traverse City. Box office hours are 4:00-8:00 p.m., Monday-Friday and 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Saturdays, September 17 and 24.