Anne of Green Gables Brings Together Generations on February 10
January 14, 2008
Anne Shirley, the high-spirited, well-intentioned 12-year-old orphan, has been a fixture in the minds and hearts of many since her 1908 inception by Lucy Maud Montgomery in the novel Anne of Green Gables. The redhead and her adventures come to the stage in a musical adaptation performed by TheatreworksUSA at 2 p.m. Sunday, February 10, in Penn State's Eisenhower Auditorium.
Tickets for the Center for the Performing Arts presentation are $15 for adults and $10 for University Park students and people 18 and younger. Buy tickets online at www.cpa.psu.edu or by phone at (814) 863-0255. Outside the local calling area, dial 1-800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are also available at four State College locations: Eisenhower Auditorium (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays), Penn State Tickets Downtown (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday), HUB-Robeson Center (11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays) and Bryce Jordan Center (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays).
The story concerns farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister, Marilla, who prepare to open their Prince Edward Island home to an orphan who can help out on the farm. But when Matthew goes to the train station to greet the adopted boy, the only child waiting is a girl with all of her possessions in a carpetbag. The child, who has never had a real home, is determined to stay with the Cuthberts at their green-gabled cottage.
The book Anne of Green Gables is the first in a series of eight Montgomery novels detailing the life of Shirley and her family. Anticipation surrounding the Feb. 10 performance is helping boost numbers of patrons checking out the books from Schlow Centre Region Library in State College.
"It's an excellent story," says Anita Ditz, Schlow children's librarian. "It has a plot line, and it makes you an intelligent reader. That's part of getting engaged. It's a book parents remember reading."
Anne of Green Gables is an engaging show about love, family and finding a place to call your own. The musical premiered in a critically acclaimed, sold-out limited engagement at off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre in spring 2007 and began its national tour, directed by Peter Flynn, in fall 2007.
Since 1961 TheatreworksUSA, America's largest not-for-profit theater company for young audiences, has entertained more than 78 million people in 49 states and Canada.
McQuaide Blasko Attorneys at Law sponsors the presentation. FROGGY 98 is the media sponsor. Kidz Connections, which is free and open to ticket holders, begins one hour before the show and features craft-oriented activities for children.
Contact: Laura Sullivan, 814-863-6379