Anne And Gilbert Faces Threat Of Final Curtain
Filed Under Country Curtain | Posted on November 10, 2008
The popular musical sequel to Anne of Green Gables is facing an uncertain future in Summerside, its home for the last three years.
“To do a production of this scale, that’s celebrated across the country and in Variety and in the Toronto Star, and it’s really kind of the great new Canadian Musical it’s really expensive,” producer Campbell Webster told CBC News Friday.
“It would be devastating,” said Janice Holmes, general manager of Tourism Summerside.
Holmes said keeping the show is a top priority for her group, but the timing is unfortunate, as the budget for this year is spent.
“We will not have any funding from our funding partners until approximately the end of January,” she said.
But Webster needs to make a decision well before that. The Harbourfront Theatre’s manager wants a commitment from him in order to plan the 2009 season. Maurice Gallant said he can fill the schedule for the theatre, but he admits he wouldn’t be able to duplicate the success of a season of the musical.
Webster has set a deadline of Thursday to raise the money he needs to put the show on in Summerside next year, and he knows the city has tough choices to make.
No extra funding would not mean the end of the show. Webster could scale down what he does at Harbourfront, or move to a smaller theatre. There are also plans for two productions in Ontario this summer, one in Toronto and one touring. There are also plans for a production in Japan.
Tags: anne of green gables, budget, cbc news, final curtain, funding partners, gallant, harbourfront, janice, japan, money, musical sequel, top priority, toronto star, tough choices, tourism, uncertain future, websterRelated posts
Leave a Reply