As expected, Patricia Hamilton is still doing theatre — something she’s been at for four and a half decades.
This time, she’s in Calgary, performing in Theatre Calgary’s production of Enchanted April, adapted into play-form by Matthew Barber, based on Elizabeth von Arnim’s novel about four post-World War I English women who embark on a trip to northern Italy to escape London’s dreary winter. Patricia plays Mrs. Graves, an old, crotchety Englishwoman who shares an Italian villa with Lotty (Tracey Ferencz) and her friends. The production has been running since February 12 and will continue until March 2.
However, that’s not all she’s been up to. Fans will get to see her again soon in Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning, reprising her role of Rachel Lynde. (In an interview with the Calgary Herald, she notes — in good humour — that this time, she’s “in a wheelchair, looking like I’m 110″.) Plus, the prequel is a small family affair. Her son, Ben Carlson, portrays Anne’s biological father, Walter. This will air on CTV sometime this year. It is still unknown whether or not it will air in the US.
Calgary Herald
Theatre Calgary: Enchanted April
Published in ACTRA Strike,
Anne Prequel,
AvCon 2007,
Away from Her,
David Fox,
Gemini Awards,
General Actor News,
General Anne News,
General Avonlea News,
Genie Awards,
Jonathan Crombie,
LM Montgomery,
Lally Cadeau,
Megan Follows,
Molly Atkinson,
Sarah Polley,
Special Coverage,
Year in Review and
Zach Bennett .
More than in years past, 2007 was a huge year for not only Anne and RTA alumni, it was also a big year for fans as well, particularly for fans of Anne.
Continue reading ‘2007 in review’
Shirley MacLaine has joined the cast of the Anne prequel. She will be playing Amelia Thomas, mother of Louise (Rachel Blanchard). Filming of her scenes began today and will continue through the rest of the month.
CTV press release
I had made a post about the identity of the new Anne a few weeks ago but deleted it as it was mainly based on rumours spread around Youtube and because no formal announcement had been made.
I can now confirm the Youtube rumours are true. The young Anne will be played in the prequel by 12-year-old Toronto-based actress Hannah Endicott-Douglas, whose acting credits include The Good Witch and Samantha: An American Girl. Portraying Anne as a 50-year-old will be Oscar®-nominated actress Barbara Hershey (Beaches, The Portrait of a Lady). Rachel Blanchard (the TV series Clueless, Where the Truth Lies) is also among the cast, playing a woman named Louise.
The three-hour movie will air next year on CTV. Broadcast rights for other countries are unknown at this time.
In addition, CTV has also acquired broadcast rights to the the first three Anne miniseries (as well as a documentary about them), Road to Avonlea (as well as Happy Christmas Miss King), Anne: The Animated Series, Anne: Journey to Green Gables (the animated movie), The Magic Flute, and Mozart Decoded: The Magic Flute Diaries Documentary. The former two productions had their first Canadian runs, and some re-broadcasts, on CBC.
CTV press release
Toronto Star
Playback Daily
The third Avonlea Convention–AvCon 2007–was held last weekend in Toronto.
Friday, July 27: Nearly 50 fans took part in a filming sights tour that included the Sullivan Entertainment backlot, the harbourfront, the Distillery District, and Spadina House.
Saturday, July 28: Fans gathered at Black Creek Pioneer Village to hear our various guests speak. This year, the Convention welcomed author Kevin McCabe (author/compiler of The L.M. Montgomery Album as well as another one regarding her poetry); composer John Welsman; and cast members Ian Clark (Simon Tremayne), Michael Mahonen (Gus Pike), and James O’Regan (Constable Jeffries). They were also able to screen a DVD featuring some of the various dance sequences from throughout the series.
Sunday, July 29: The Convention moved downtown to the Royal Ontario Museum. In the morning was the charity auction, where $4700 was raised for the ROM, which was the selected beneficiary for the year. The afternoon was emceed by Mag Ruffman (Olivia King/Dale) and Kevin Sullivan–the latter discussing various aspects of making the series. For example, the third season episode, “A Dark and Stormy Night” was meant to be a parody of 19th century melodrama. Also in the afternoon, fans got to see a DVD of series outtakes.
In words and pictures…
Corey’s Flickr set
Bobby’s Flickr set
Toronto Star
A more detailed report by Sonya (PDF file; hosted at Avonlea.hu)
avonleaconvention.org
