National Arts Centre's Atlantic Scene to feature Anne of Green Gables -- The Musical™
January 31, 2003 -
Charlottetown's Confederation Centre of the Arts and
Ottawa's Centrepointe Theatre to co-present musical in
association with the National Arts Centre from April 29 to May 3,
2003
OTTAWA (Ontario) -- The National Arts Centre (NAC) today announced
that Anne of Green Gables - the MusicalTM
will run at Centrepointe Theatre as part of the Atlantic Scene, the
NAC's upcoming East Coast arts and culture festival to take
place in the nation's capital from April 22 to May 4.
This production by Charlottetown's Confederation Centre of
the Arts will be performed eight times at Ottawa's Centrepointe
Theatre from April 29 to May 3. This original production of Anne
of Green Gables - the MusicalTM is co-presented
by the Confederation Centre of the Arts and Centrepointe Theatre in
association with the National Arts Centre's Atlantic Scene
festival.
"The NAC is proud to be involved in bringing such a classic piece
of Canadian literature from Prince Edward Island to our nation's
capital," said Peter Herrndorf, President and CEO of the National
Arts Centre.
"We are so excited that Anne of Green Gables - the
MusicalTM, Canada's best loved and longest
running musical, will be part of the National Arts Centre's
Atlantic Scene," says David MacKenzie, CEO of the Confederation
Centre of the Arts. "This showcase of Atlantic Canadian talent is the
perfect venue to take our premier production - and its very
talented cast of Canadian performing artists - on its first tour
since 1991. I commend the National Arts Centre on this wonderful
initiative."
"I cannot think of a better way to mark the occasion of
Centrepointe Theatre's 15th anniversary than with the presentation of
this classic, Canadian musical theatre production," said Barbara
Feldman, manager of Centrepointe Theatre.
Based on L.M. Montgomery's novel, Anne of Green Gables -
the MusicalTM is written and composed by Don Harron
and Norman Campbell, with lyrics by Elaine Campbell and Mavor
Moore.The Confederation Centre for the Arts has been home to the
musical since it premiered in 1965. In its 38-year history with the
Charlottetown Festival, the show has rarely toured, leaving home on
fewer than a dozen occasions for destinations such as Broadway,
London's West End and Japan. In 2002, the show was reconstructed
to reflect the interpretation of its first director, Alan Lund,
emulating the lighting, choreography, sets and musical direction of
the original production.
This wonderful family classic tells the poignant and funny story
of a freckle-faced, red-haired orphan named Anne Shirley who arrives
at her new home in Green Gables in Avonlea full of hope for a new
life. With her fiery temper, love of melodrama and romance, and
penchant for misadventures, she brings laughter, love, and more than
a little consternation to the elderly couple that has adopted her. In
return, Anne finds the happiness and the home she has longed for all
of her life.
"We are very pleased to have this opportunity to share our Anne
with audiences in the nation's capital," said the Hon. Jeffrey Lantz,
Minister of Tourism for the Province of Prince Edward Island. Tourism
P.E.I. contributed financial assistance to this tour.
Tickets for Anne of Green Gables - the
MusicalTM will go on sale at the Centrepointe Theatre
box office on March 5, 2003. The full Atlantic Scene lineup of
performers, as well as the time and date of shows and activities,
will be unveiled at the National Arts Centre in March.
The National Arts Centre's Atlantic Scene is the first in a
series of biennial regional festivals to take place in the
nation's capital which will showcase the best in Canadian arts
and culture from coast to coast. Four hundred established and
emerging artists from the East Coast will take part in 85 events
ranging from theatre, visual arts, film, comedy and literature, to
Celtic, Acadian, pop and classical music - and even culinary
arts. For 13 days beginning April 22, 2003, and ending on May 4,
2003, it will be as if Atlantic Canada has moved to the nation's
capital.
Partners include the Government of Canada and the Department of
Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Atlantic
Canada Opportunities Agency, and the Governments of New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Media and corporate sponsors include CBC-Radio Canada, the
National Post, Transcontinental Media, the Ottawa Citizen, Le
Droit, Alexander Keith's, Clearwater Fine Foods Inc., Via
Rail Canada, Eastlink, Universal Music, The Shaw Group, Delta Hotels,
Ramada Hotel & Suites Ottawa, The Aristocrat Hotel and EMI Music
Canada. Philanthropists Margaret and David Fountain, The Craig
Foundation, The Donald R. Sobey Foundation and Purdy Crawford have
also provided important financial support.
For ticket information about Anne of Green Gables - the
MusicalTM, please visit www.centrepointetheatre.com
or call 613 580-2700 (Toll-free: 1 866 752-5231). For more
information on Atlantic Scene, please visit www.atlanticscene.ca.
