THE BARBER OF SEVILLE – REVIEW OF 2025 OPERA BASTILLE, PARIS, PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

Rossini’s The Barber of Seville is one of the most popular operas in the repertoire which means one has many opportunities to see it. That is enjoyable of course but it may also develop ways of seeing the work and choices by different directors that may raise more eyebrows than cheers of approval.

The Paris National Opera wound up its 2024-2025 season at the Opera Bastille with a production of The Barber conducted by Diego Matheuz and directed by Damiano Michieletto. Matheuz took a deliberate pace where he could, but those patter arias forced breakneck rapidity and he came through.

The singers were popular with the audience. Led by a robust, full-throated baritone Mattia Olivieri as Figaro, tenor Levy Sekgapane as Count Almaviva, mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina as Rosina and bass-baritone Carlo Lepore as Doctor Bartolo they did creditable work in the vocal department.

The issue I have is with Michieletto’s view of the opera and his overall presentation of it. He creates a whole world or at least community for the life of the characters involved in the courtship of Rosina by Count Almaviva. In fact, he goes out of his way to make us see The Barber of Seville in his conception.

It is a modern-dress production and the first thing we see is an ordinary car parked in front of a tenement building. It turns out to be Count Almaviva’s car (I think) and we would have expected him to drive something sporty and hence more expensive, but we let it go by.

But we do pay attention to the building where we know Rosina lives as the ward of the elderly and obnoxious Dr. Bertolo who controls her life and, what is worse, wants to marry the delectable young lady.

Scene from The Barber of Seville, 2025 Opera Bastille, Paris.

They live on three floors of a less than classy building in a less-than-opulent neighborhood created by designer Paolo Fentin. Michieletto and Fentin want us to have a full and frequent view of Bartolo’s residence. The central part of the set revolves so we get a full view of every side of the tenement. The plain street front turns and we get to the side of the building with winding staircases to the third floor. We will see characters going up and down those stairs with alarming frequency with questionable necessity to do so.

Another turn and we see a cross section of the apartment with Rosina’s tiny bedroom on the main floor, several rooms above that where the music lesson will take place in one and much more elsewhere that I cannot recall.

On the third floor there may be a kitchen, and I think I saw a servant washing dishes there but with so much activity going on it was difficult to keep up with who was doing what, where.

There is BARRACUDA SNACK …& BAR on the left which was in business, and we saw people eating there. There are apartments to the left and right of the Bartolo residence and they are occupied, of course, and now and then they become part of the main action of Rossini’s work.

That is not all. This is a whole community and Michieletto wants us to see it in full life and action with people running up and down stairs, making noise and showing a vibrant neighborhood. The costumes are a motley of the working class type and Rosina wears a short black dress and leotards that could have been bought at Walmart if Paris has such a store.

The neighborhood gets more vibrant when Don Basilio (Luca Pisaroni) sings the famous aria “La calumnia.” There is no need for him to do much except deliver it with sonority and conviction. In this production he uses the stairs and goes all over the place. But that is not enough. There are people on the street holding anti-Almaviva signs nicely printed. The aria is heard in the first act, and we do not know that Lindoro is in fact the count and why and how do the neighbors know what Don Basilio is singing about?

It is impossible to ruin The Barber of Seville if you have decent singers, a good chorus and a good orchestra. This production had all of that in spades. Diego Matheuz conducted the orchestra and chorus of the Paris National Opera with exemplary playing and singing even if I thought he took some parts a bit on the slow side.

I have no complaints about the singers. They were kept so busy doing other things that sometimes I doubted they had time to concentrate on their vocal duties.

In fairness I should mention that I saw the 55^th performance of this production which received a positive reception from the audience. Chacun a son gout, as the French would say.            

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The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini continues until July 13, 2025, at the Opera Bastille, Paris, France. http://www.operadeparis.fr/

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press

 

CARMEN – REVIEW OF 2025 ROYAL OPERA HOUSE, COVENT GARDEN PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

The Royal Opera House is rounding off its current season with a revival of Bizet’s Carmen, by all descriptions one of the favourites in the repertoire. Judging by the applause, the production must be counted as a success and vocally it was. Director Damiano Michieletto adds numerous personal touches that may attract some and be questioned by other fans.

Mezzo-soprano Anna Goryachova leads the cast in the title role and all eyes are peeled on her. She has a lovely voice, not big but fine. She is slender and attractive, but we want a Caremn who is more dramatic and demonstrative. She does not try to dance and that is fine but surely, she can move her arms, her body, and feet, give us some kinetic energy. We want to see a Carmen who is a sexual magnet. Ms Goryachova does not fulfil those attributes.

Tenor Charles Castronovo is an excellent Don Jose. He is a decent man who feels guilty about not visiting his mother and he develops genuine affection for Micaela (soprano Selene Zanetti), the country girl sent by his mother. Unfortunately, he lacks the strength to resist the sexual magnetism of the gypsy Carmen and ruins his life. Castronovo’s strong, resonant voice draws us to his side, but we give up on him personally as a Don Jose but not vocally as a singer.

Don Jose’s competition is the playboy bullfighter Escamillo (bass-baritone Christian Van Horn). With the unforgettable “Toreador” Escamillo expresses the ultimate in machismo, and Carmen falls for him. He expresses his manliness again when he drops by the thieves’ lair to see her again and invite her to the bullfight. Love triumphs, so to speak.

Micaela is sent by Don Jose’s mother to give him a kiss and ask him to visit his mother. She does affectingly and Don Jose does fall in love with her, and we should too. But Michieletto dresses her up like a frump and she wears glasses. Villages produce attractive girls, and some effort should have been made to make Micaela more appealing instead of working in the other direction. The costume designer is Carla Teti.

Anna Goryachova as Carmen. The Royal Opera ©2025 Marc Brenner

Michieletto adds another character whom we recognize as Don Jose’s mother. She appears a few times from the start as a silent character (is she a ghost, a figment of the imagination. Don Jose’s conscience?) When Don Jose abandons Micaela and runs after Carmen, the mother tosses a rose that she held in her hand at him. She appears at the end when her son strangles Carmen. Interesting?

He changes the occupation of Don Jose and his regiment into policemen instead of soldiers. They occupy a small building on a revolving stage, and it simplifies their uniforms to dull grey instead of officers’ attire. The children in the first scene do not march but they sing the march song. Policemen do not march but what is gained by changing the soldiers to cops?

The one-room police station stays on the stage throughout the performance including on the mountain where the thieves are waiting for victims to rob. We have a scene in a room that could be found in a small apartment, but we are supposed to be in the open-air freedom of the mountains. The set was designed by Paolo Fantin,

Even the final scene where Don Jose is begging Carman to run away with him, the two are supposed to be outside the bull-fighting arena. Instead, they are in a deserted area in the middle of nowhere.

This is a modern dress production that pays little attention to who wears what or where. We get street clothes of all kinds and colours. In a criminal den there should be some indication of where they are.

No one can complain about the performance of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House conducted by Ariane Matiakh. It gave a superb performance as did the Royal Opera Chorus, William Spaulding, Chorus Director. Much of the applause may have been for them.

In short, a well sung production with Director Damiano Michieletto making numerous changes to the libretto that did not seem to add anything to the opera.
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Carmen by Georges Bizet played until July 5, 2025, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, England. www.roh.org.uk

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press

SAUL – REVIEW OF 2025 GLYNDEBOURNE FESTIVAL PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

Composing and having an opera produced in the 18^th century was a complex business unless you stuck to Greek mythology. There are some fantastic stories in the Old Testament, but you could only write holy oratorios if you wanted your work produced. Things were improving at the time, but it was still risky. 

George Frideric Handel called Saul a dramatic oratorio, a stunning work based on the Book of Samuel about King Saul (Christopher Purves) and his son Jonathan. The latter had a close and dedicated friend, David. You may know very little about the first two, but you have met the statue of David many times and you know who he is: he killed the giant Philistine Goliath with his sling shot against all odds.

There is a story there but don’t call it an opera. Handel called it an Oratorio and added “or Sacred Drama.” That’s on the safe side of the law. He also called it “An Epinicion” a nice Greek word meaning “Song of Triumph” and further explained that it was about the victory over Goliath and the Philistines. Maybe you can produce this without the permission of the Bishop of London?

The Glyndebourne Festival has produced a magnificent and entertaining Saul. The opera has some stunning choral pieces and is visually fabulous and a pleasure to watch. It opens with an “epinicion” sung by the Chorus of Israelites praising the Lord and David who destroyed Goliath with a slingshot. We see a huge head of his victim on the stage which is rolled over and we witness the eye that David hit.

That is not the main story of Saul but the relationship between Saul’s son Jonathan and the low-born David is. Jonathan and David are friends who swear eternal fealty to each other, They are FRIENDS. Saul, with hair down to his buttocks, becomes jealous of the praise that David gets and decides that he hates him. Really hates him and orders Jonathan to snuff him. 

Scene from Saul at Glyndebourne Festiva. Photo: ASH

Saul has some gorgeous choruses, but we do not go to the opera to hear religious choruses. Director Barrie Koskie and his crew make sure of that with a large and splendid chorus lined up on the stage amid beautiful flower arrangements. They do more than sing. They move their hands and arms, make wild gestures and engage in physical acts that are entertaining. Saul pushes people to the floor and garners laughs. Saul is slightly deranged, and he is a comic figure who runs around the stage like a lunatic, and he is more of a clown than a king. That is how you change an oratorio into an opera or at least an entertainment.

Saul’s daughter Michal (soprano Soraya Mafi) falls in love with David, and she jumps up and down, giggling and the audience loves her. Her sister Merab (Sarah Brady) rejects David because he is not of royal blood, and she gets our contempt and no laughs.

The opera turns somber and serious in the second half leading to the glorious Dead March in the third act. It is a startling contrast that turns the oratorio into an opera as if that mattered.

Countertenor Iestyn Davies sings David with his gorgeous voice and stage presence. Tenor Linard Vrielink sings the part of Jonathan, David’s troubled friend who is ordered by his father to kill David. The plot and the biblical story of the succession to the throne and the establishment of the House of David are neatly solved: Jonathan and Saul are killed in war.

Unstinting praise must be meted out to the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and The Glyndebourne Chorus conducted by Jonathan Cohen. They have, as I said, some stunning pieces to perform and sing and they perform gorgeously. There are splendid dance routines choreographed by Otto Pichler.

Saul by any name is a grand piece of theatre and Glyndbourne brings out its best.

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Saul  by George Frideric Handel will be performed on various dates until July 24, 2025, at the Glyndebourne Festival, East Sussex, England. www.glyndebourne.com

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press

THE FROGS – REVIEW OF 2025 PRODUCTION AT SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE, LONDON

Reviewed by James Karas

When was the last time you saw a comedy by Aristophanes? He is universally accepted as the great writer of comedy in Ancient Greece but there are few productions of his plays outside of Greece. His comedies are rooted in ancient Athens with references to events current in the fifth century BCE. Understanding them requires references to footnotes and the plays are almost invariably produced in a “version” that can be made comprehensible to a modern audience. 

The version of The Frogs, which is staged at the Southwark Playhouse in London has a long history and a sterling pedigree. It was adapted and staged by Burt Shevelove in 1974 in the swimming pool of Yale University with Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver and Christopher Durang. They were all students at Yale at the time.

Since then, it has received numerous changes including music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and was adapted “even more freely” by Nathan Lane. It has received numerous productions around the U.S., England, Canada and Australia most of them with short runs. It even made it to Lincoln Center where it ran for 90 performances.

Georgie Rankcom has staged a full-throated production in the tiny Southwark Playhouse in the Borough of Southwark. The skeleton of Aristophanes’ play remains but almost everything has changed from the “freely adapted” by Shevelove to the “even more freely adapted by Nathan Lane” and the songs by Sondheim have been changed as well. It’s done in the service of making the classic play funny and understandable to people who are not intimately aware of what was happening in Athens in 405 BCE, that is all of us.

Things are not going well in old Athens and Dionysus, the demigod of the theatre decides to go to Hades, the underworld, and bring a great playwright to fix things. This version is set in old Athens, but it takes place today and Dionysus has Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw as good candidates to revive the great city.

The cast of The Frogs. Photo: Pamela Raith

It sounds boring already, but it is not. Dan Buckley as Dionysus and Kevin McHale as his slave Xanthias are superb comic actors and have some very funny lines. Xanthis prefers to be considered an apprentice rather than a slave. His parents were poor and had to sell him into slavery. He recalls them bargaining with the purchaser and trying to get a better price by offering a mule to go with him. Dionysus wants to go to the underworld as a macho man, like Herakles and he goes to his half-brother Herakles (Jaquin Pedro Valdes) to get an outfit to pass as him. Fact: their daddy Zeus did their mothers and hence the relationship.

There is tomfoolery and modern references that are funny. On seeing Herakles’ beautiful house Xanthis mistakes it for Shaw’s and comments that My Fair Lady must have really paid off.

We meet the frogs and the lazy, good-for-nothing citizens of Athens who want everything to stay as it is. How about a dance routine by frogs? We get a Chorus, and they treat us to Sondheim’s songs which will keep us company throughout.

The travelers need to cross the river Styx with a hilarious Charon (Carl Patrick), the boatman. The Frogs appear and do their number, and we meet Ariadne (Alison Driver), Dionysus’ former wife. All along we are treated to energetic acting, dancing and singing.

In order to decide what poet will return to earth, they propose a contest between Shaw (Martha Pothen) and Shakespeare (Bart Lambert). In the end Shaw reads some lines from Saint Joan and Shakespeare recites lines from Cymbeline. They do not work very well because they are not in keeping with the spirit of the play. The second half fizzes out a bit and a line like “I will throw Ibsen in” when trying to convince Dionysus to take Shaw over Shakespeare is the best we get.

Director Georgie Rankcom creates energy and humour with a talented cast and a play version that we are grateful for.
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The Frogs by Aristophanes et. al. played until June 28, 2025, at the Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD. http://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press

LES MISERABLES - REVIEW OF 1985 LONDON PRODUCTION IN 2025

Reviewed by James Karas 

Les Misérables premiered in London in 1985. It went to Broadway and a slew of travelling companies have taken it around the world. Is there anyone who has not seen it? I raise my hand with trepidation and bow my head before Dionysus, the god of the theatre and plead guilty. (He is also the god of wine, madness and religious ecstasy, but we don’t need to go there.)

I have expiated belatedly my iniquity of omission and have seen the grand musical in remission of my sin. Mea culpa many times. If you have seen the musical, there is no need for you to read my groveling.

It is an astounding show. There are myriads of reasons for it becoming the longest playing musical in London and a hit around the world. It has a grand story based on Victor Hugo’s massive novel. Its plot strands encompass French history in the first half of the nineteenth century intermingled with the story of Jean Valjean, the wretched of France, justice and injustice, good and evil, virtue and vice, love redemption and much more.

The music score by Claude-Michel Schonberg is heroic, epic at times, stentorian, romantic, moving and all-in-all triumphal. Much of the story is dramatic and tragic and the basses of the orchestra come through with astonishing sonority and power. The production has a full orchestra that bedazzles us. The musical is sung-through, and the lead characters and chorus display vocal prowess, drama and beauty to astonishing effect. Ian McIntosh as Valjean, Stewart Clarke as the relentless and merciless Inspector Javert, Annabelle Aquino as Cosette, Amena El-Kindy as Eponine and Jacob Dachtler as Marius sing some beautiful songs with murderous scales. The musical also has some comic scenes especially with the Monsieur and Madame Thenardier couple (Luke Kempner and Claire Machin).

The complicated plot begins with the story of Valjean who was imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread. He escapes and is befriended by the Bishop of Digne (Adam Pearce). He steals the Bishop’s silver but when caught the Bishop tells the police that he gave the silver to him. Valjean encounters decency.

Scene from Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre, London 

Valjean becomes rich and decent. He purchases the freedom of Cosette from the Dickensian Thenardiers and does acts of decency as he gains respectability and keeps a step ahead of Javert. But the conditions of the French on the bottom rung of the social ladder are deplorable and the students prepare an uprising. We witness the rebellion and hear the songs of the rebels led by Marius (Jacob Dachtler). Love entanglements enter the plot with appropriate music and songs. Marius loves Cosette and Epinine loves Marius and a battle is brewing between the rebels and the army.

The grand, mobile set reflects the dark events of the plot, and it never ceases to amaze with its effectiveness. The battle scene can almost compete with a Hollywood movie which is saying a lot for a stage musical. Extraordinary use of lights, firepower and war-like sound effects produce a dazzling battle sequence. The set is impressive throughout, but I found the battle scenes the pièce de résistance.

The plot moves fairly briskly among the changes in scene and events. In other words, there is little chance of experiencing any longueurs in the three-hour (including intermission) program.

The denouement shows a wedding scene that includes a wedding march and a waltz with lights shining and happiness in the air. In the end we see the demise of Valjean and a moving chorus that struck me as a requiem for humanity. Moving, beautiful, resonant, spectacular.

The whole thing is directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell and a boatload of behind-the-scenes artists.

I am not sure if I touched on all the virtues of the production or explained what has kept it running for forty continuous years in London alone. When you see it, start counting the reasons for its success and see how quickly you will run out of digits.
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Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schonberg (music), Herbert Kretzmer (lyrics), adapted by Trevor Nunn and John Caird from the novel Victor Hugo continues in perpetuity at the Sondheim Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6BA. https://www.sondheimtheatre.co.uk/ 

JAMES KARAS IS THE SENIOR EDITOR, CULTURE OF THE GREEK PRESS 

THE CRUCIBLE – REVIEW OF 2025 PRODUCTION AT SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE THEATRE, LONDON

Reviewed by James Karas 

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a play about witch hunts in late 17^th century Salem Massachusetts and about a powerful indictment of 20^th century witch hunts conducted by Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee, (HUAC).

In 1682 in Salem everyone believed or was convinced of the existence of witches and highly educated people set out to eradicate those whose souls were seized by the devil. They proceeded to condemn and hang them unless they confessed their sin. If they confessed their sin, their confession and their name would be posted around the town as a humiliating result.

In the 1940’s and 1950’s HUAC pursued people suspected of being Communists and ruined the careers of countless Americans. The witch hunts for Communists or leftists were very much like the events in Salem however superficially different they may appear.

Arthur Miller refused to “name names” of people that he associated with and were members of the Communist Party or other leftist organizations before the Committee and was jailed for a short time. Most people may know little about the McCarthy era, but Miller’s play remains as relevant and powerful as ever.

At its core, the play is about the delusion of the existence of witches and the ability of educated people to recognize, prove their existence and convict and execute people for being infected by witchcraft.

The protagonist of The Crucible is John Proctor (Gavin Drea) a decent farmer caught in the town’s mass hysteria about witches. The instigators are young girls who were seen dancing, maybe naked, in the fields outside the village. One of them is Betty (Scarlett Nunes) the daughter of the firebrand Reverend Parris (Steve Furst) who is speechless the following morning. The story mushrooms into a huge issue when the insecure Reverent Parris calls an expert in the detection of witches. The Reverend  Parris calls Reverend Hale (Jo Stone-Fewimgs), a Harvard educated cleric to examine the situation. He is an intense man who believes he can detect witchcraft.                                           

  

John Proctor and hie wife Elizabeth. Photo: Marc Brenner

The town people are basically decent, but some are inevitably greedy and want to acquire more land, preferably from their neighbors. Parris is suspicious and greedy. The situation gets out of hand when Deputy Governor Danforth (Gareth Snook) starts executing people. The complete departure from logic, and descent into delusion has no bounds. The tragedy that all is delusion and hysteria is not considered because the mere thought of it is beyond the ability of the judges and the people to comprehend.

Proctor and Hale see what is happening and scream that all is fraud but the people in power cannot make the huge leap from delusional conviction to the world of logic and thinking.

John Proctor objects to Rev. Parris’ fire and brimstone type of services and does not attend church regularly. He has also committed the sin of lechery by having sex with his servant (and main witch) Abigail (Hannah Saxby). He and his wife Elizabeth (Phoebe Pryce) along with many villagers will stand accused of witchcraft and most will be sentenced to death.

The judges are self-righteous and arrogant. Judge Hathorne (Stuart McQuarrie who also plays the greedy Thomas Putnam) and Deputy Governor Danforth are fighting the devil, the ultimate evil, and they are prepared and convict people of witchcraft and execute them.

The cast delivers superb performances of a play that is simply terrifying. The young girls who instigate the panic are superb in their unison screaming and terrifying accusations of witchcraft. The large space of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre provides staging difficulties of its own, but the cast and crew bring everything together. Director Ola Ince gets the most credit for organizing all and giving us a superb afternoon at the theatre.

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The Crucible by Arthur Miller continues until July 12, 2025 at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, 21 New Globe Walk, London. www.shakespearesglobe.com/

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES – REVIEW OF 2025 STRATFORD FESTIVAL PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas 

The Stratford Festival has produced a supremely beautiful retelling and re-creation of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s wonderful story, Anne of Green Gables. For those Canadians that live in caves, be informed that the novel tells the story of Anne (please note the “e”), an orphan who is sent to the farm of Matthew Cuthbert (Tim Campbell) and his sister Marilla (Sarah Dodd). Their house has the distinction of having green gables on its roof.

The problem is that they asked for and expected a boy from the orphanage and the arrival of Anne (Caroline Toal) is extremely disconcerting. But Anne turns out to be a gem of a human being and in Toal’s extraordinary performance a huge gift for the audience. She has a wild, wonderful, romantic imagination and talks at unbelievable speeds. She expresses her feelings in delightful superlatives (I will never…..the most …the best) and is prone to hilarious exaggerations. She has red hair braided in pigtails that she hates and Toal acts with such wonderful panache and passion that she leaves us breathless.

A bit more about the adaptation before I heap praise on the rest of the cast. The novel is set in rural Prince Edward Island in late 19th century. Kat Sandler was commissioned by the Stratford Festival to adapt the novel for the stage and is faithful to Montgomery for the first half of the play. The second half maintains all the characters of the first but takes place today.

The costumes change and we have a 21^st century story. Anne and her classmates graduate from high school, and Anne applies for admission to Oxford University. She has had an “I hate you” relationship with tall and handsome Gilbert (Jordin Hall) that turns into something else, and a rocky relationship with neighbour Rachel Lyne (Maev Beaty). Matthew has a heart attack and Marilla has serious health issues. Anne’s world has changed, and she must decide which road to take. I will not disclose her choice in case you don’t know. The second half has its humour and pathos (was there a dry eye in the theatre at the end of the performance?) but it is different, and its humour does not rise to the hilarity of the first act.    

Tim Campbell as Matthew Cuthbert and Caroline Toal as 

Anne Shirley. Photo: David Hou. 

Tim Campbell gives a superb performance as the quiet, decent and lovable Matthew. He develops an immediate affection for Anne and when Marilla accuses her of stealing a broach, he tells Anne that he knows she did not do it. Campbell is funny, moving and splendid.

The tough and bossy Marilla is done wonderfully by Dodd. She has decency and compassion that is slowly revealed. Beaty is outstanding as usual, and she gains the enmity of Anne by insulting her. Anne strikes back but eventually she shows magnanimity by apologizing.

Sandler has taken an interesting step in her adaptation by adding a Chorus. Aside from Anne, Marilla and Matthew the seven other actors play specific roles, but they also form the Chorus. From the start we are told that we will be told the story of Anne of Green Gables. We have some quick and funny changes as when Gilbert throws on a dress and becomes a woman. The other actors take on roles as teachers and Anne’s classmates. All of this shows versatility and creates of humour. I shall name the balance of them. They are Julie Lumsden (Diana Barry), Anne’s sworn bosom friend, Prissy Andrews (Jennifer Villaverde), Moody Spurgeon (Josue Laboucane), Josie Pye (Helen Belay), and Jane Andrews (Steven Hao). They along with the rest of the cast got a well-deserved standing ovation.

Set and Costume Designer Joanna Yu provided the skeleton of a house with green gables and appropriate long dresses for the 19^th century segment and modern clothes for the 21^st century.

Kat Sandler deserves huge kudos for her adaptation and direction. It showed meticulous attention to detail and pace. A small pause before a reply, a look, a glance were all used to provoke laughter and pathos. Superb work.   

It is funny, moving, vibrant and Canadian.
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Ann of Green Gables, adapted by Kat Sandler from the novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery as one of the Schulich Children’s Plays will run in repertory until November 2, 2025, at the Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ontario. www.stratfordfestival.ca

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press