🎙 Hays High to present ‘Anne of Green Gables’ March 9-11

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

The tale of red-haired orphan Anne Shirley will come to 12th Street Auditorium as Hays High School presents Anne of Green Gables at 7 p.m. on March 9 through 11.

“Lucille Maude Montgomery’s classic 1905 novel has been adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright Joseph Robinette and is under the direction of Bill Gasper,” according to a press release announcing the production.

“It's a really it's a coming of age story, I feel like and it's just a lot of fun,” said Addy Brull, who plays the titular character. “It's such an amazing show. It's family-friendly and everybody is sure to love it.”

“In a nutshell, it is a coming-of-age story in which a young girl (Anne Shirley) overcomes the adversity of losing her parents, living in an orphanage, and bouncing from one harsh family to another to achieve success,” Gasper said. “It stresses the importance of independence, family, nature, faith, and education. Taking place in the early 20th century, the book explores the strict gender roles of that period and how Anne defies those stereotypes to prove she is equal to her male counterparts.”

The story has been adapted for stage and film numerous times since its publication, and Gasper, in his 17th year directing the Spring Play at Hays High, said he had been considering Anne of Green Gables for previous productions, but this year decided to “give it a go.”

“I'm glad I did,” he said. “It's simply a great story.”

But mounting the classic tale required considerable effort, including finding a large cast that includes 23 students on stage and another 6 students behind the scenes.

“It takes a village,” said Devlyn Jochum, who plays Marilla Cuthbert. “We have a gal doing our costumes… people all need different costumes from a specific time period. That's quite difficult to do. We have people in charge of building and painting our sets, in charge of stocking those sets with props and things. And then of course, we're responsible for learning lines. We have people working lights and the soundboard.”

“Everything has to work pretty smoothly, but once it does, it's really fun.”

“It’s one of the largest casts I’ve had in a while, which presents its own set of challenges,” Gasper said. “Overall though, I couldn’t be more pleased with the effort and the outstanding performances taking place on the stage. Parents, relatives and community members should be very proud of the talent that exists at Hays High School.”

After months of work, Spencer Mills-Kulmula, who plays Rachel Lynde, said the production has nearly come together as they continue dress rehearsals.

“It's flowing nicely,” Mills-Kulmula said. “There's still some kinks, which is how it goes for everything. But we're working those out.”

“We're definitely getting really good at our characterization right now,” Brull said. “I feel like what we're doing the most of is just smoothing out our character to get it fully ready for the show.”

“And I would say that genuinely the best part of putting on something like this, making the audience believe what they're seeing and being so immersed into that scene,” Mills-Kulmula said. “Yeah, it's really coming along nicely.”

The performance will be a “highlight reel” of all the most memorable moments from the book, Gasper said as they move quickly from scene to scene and from season to season.

“Robinette does a nice job in keeping things moving and relatively cohesive, especially since it covers several years of Anne's life,” he said.

Tickets are $8 and are available now at ticketsource.us/hays-high-school, the Hays High School office, and at the door the night of the performance.

The full cast of Hays High's production of Anne of Green Gables includes:

Anne Shirley.......................................................... Addy Brull
Matthew Cuthbert................................................. Caleb King
Marilla Cuthbert............................................. Devlyn Jochum
Rachel Lynde...................................... Spenser Mills-Kumala
Diana Barry......................................... Jordan Aschenbrenner
Mrs. Barry/Mrs. Neville..................................... Allie Conner
Girl On Street/Minnie May Barry...................... Olivia Pince
Josie Pye.................................................... Katelyn Willemsen
Mrs. Blewett/Ruby Gillis............................... Calliope Green
Moody MacPherson................................................ Atlas Seib
Jane Andrews.............................................. Skyler Rodriguez
Gilbert Blythe.................................................... Caleb Johnson
Mr. Phillips/Jerry Buote/Rev. Allan.............. Connor Werth
Charlie Sloan/Mr. Sadler.................................... Oscar Flores
Rev. Bentley/President Queen’s Academy.... Calvin Moore
Station Master/Tommy Sloane.................. Bryton Unsworth
Jimmy Glover....................................................... Cade Becker
Miss Susan Stacy/Carrie Sloane.................. Elizabeth Noble
Prissy Andrew/Aunt Josephine Barry........ Clare Tholstrop
Miss Rogerson/Mrs. Allan............................ Rose Windholz
Bessie Wright/Mary Jo....................................... Maddie Meis
Girls On Street/Tillie Boulter..................... Allison Goertzen
Violinist “Going Home”.......................................... Evyn Cox

PRODUCTION CREW
Production Assistant/Sound................. Hannah Eikenberry
Stage Manager..................................................... Ry Houchen
Stage.......................................................................... Anna Zerr
Lights.................................................................. Jaxon Fleenor