"Anne of Green Gables," "Deathtrap" both top-notch

By Charles Jarrett

Once again we have two shows that are top-notch entertainment, "Anne of Green Gables,"which is as close as the Del Valle Theatre adjacent to Rossmoor, and "Deathtrap," a short drive away in Concord, at the Willows Theatre.

"Anne of Green Gables" was written by Lucy Maud Montgomery in 1908. It is the first in a series of books about the beloved character, Anne Shirley, a red-headed, freckled-faced orphan girl of 11, who comes to live with an elderly brother and sister on the family farm on Prince Edward Island in Canada. It is a delightfully warm and poignant tale of an outspoken girl with an imagination bigger than all the Canadian backwoods put together.

Matthew Cuthbert is in his early 60s and his sister, Marilla, is close in age. Neither has ever married and they have maintained the family farm with short-term and not thoroughly dependable hired help. Consequently they have decided to adopt a young boy from the orphanage to assist them with their farm and, in turn, plan to assist the orphan with education and family values. But when Matthew arrives at the train station to pick up the boy, he discovers a terrible mistake has been made, the orphan is a girl!

Matthew is one of the most inverted individuals in the world, afraid to talk with women other than his sister and her good friend, Rachel Lynde (Rose Marie Sweeney). He decides to leave it up to Marilla to straighten out the mess, so he gathers up Anne's old carpet bag and ushers her into his buggy for the ride home.

Anne has a "powerful lot to say" and say it she does, speaking in grand and eloquent speeches that go on and on and on. While riding in the buggy, she rattles on about her disappointment in having to meet her sponsoring family attired in such poor garments as provided her by the orphanage, and talks about her hopes for better things to come:

Anne is precocious, brash, vivacious, and over-exaggerates everything in her charming, heartwarming and melodramatic way, but at the same time she is imbued with a childlike innocence. She brings a sense of life as well as melodrama into the Cuthbert family.

Director Al Anderson with the Contra Costa Christian Theatre group, along with Assistant Director Richard Howarter, has pulled together an absolutely excellent cast composed of both near-professional actors and aspiring neophytes working hard to become more professional. Many of the cast members have had numerous productions under their belt, including Keith Parker (who plays Matthew) and Heather Lane (who plays Marilla).

Parker plays the laid-back and bashful brother with perfect "understatement" and is absolutely delightful in his characterization. Lane, as Marilla, wins your heart with her "matter-of-fact" sternness and maternal protection of young Anne.

Anne (played by 17-year-old Jenna Stich) is an absolute charmer! She is a fine young actress with the ability to play a very complex role extremely convincingly. I absolutely fell in love with her, as did the entire audience - this will be a young lady to watch closely in the future. I could go on and on about many actors (30 in all), many of whom also who deserve kudos, but I haven't the space in this article.

The set is another masterpiece of simplicity and beautiful functionality, designed by that wizard in the wings, Doug Ham. The very lovely and intricate costumes are created in large part by designer Cindy Sarmiento. It is a very sweet and poignant show that tugs at the heart strings, and makes you laugh and cry and feel very good when the final curtain rises.

You only have this coming weekend, Friday, Sept. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 1, to see this outstanding show. Curtain times are at 7:30 p.m. (due to so many children being in the show) and there is a matinee at 2 p.m., on Saturday. The Del Valle Theatre is located at 1953 Tice Valley Blvd., just north of the entrance to Rossmoor. Call 943- 7469 to reserve tickets.