Watch out Confederation Centre - there's a new Anne in town.

The Harbourfront Jubilee Theatre's Anne and Gilbert -the continuation of Anne Shirley's story beyond her childhood days in Anne of Green Gables – is hands down the best theatrical production I've seen in years.

I'd even go so far as to say it was (gasp) better than the original Anne musical.

It was funny, smartly written, endearing and heartfelt. I felt like I was in Avonlea and actually a part of Anne and Gilbert Blythe's lives.

I laughed, my heart ached and I cried.

It's not hard to tell why the production has a price tag of close to $1 million. A simple yet beautiful set gives one a sense of being in the small Avonlea schoolroom; its community church; Redmond College and various other locales in Montgomery's fictional Island town.

Scene changes were done with ease, thanks to a set that didn't have to be taken down and set up once during the production.

The use of both the stage and theatre made the audience feel part of the story, keeping the production interesting and lively.

And only one word describes the costumes, makeup and hair: WOW!

Each performer had, at the very least, three costume changes; for the two title characters, far more.

Each of Anne's costumes was breathtaking yet simple, befitting the character that came to Avonlea an orphan.

A great deal of research must have been done to get the jewelry, hats, shoes and the hair to depict the era.
Hats off to costume designer Philip Clarkson!

All original tunes, penned by writers, Islander Nancy White, Robert Johnston and Jeffery Hochhauser, felt familiar. I found myself humming along and chuckling when the schoolgirls sang of the glorious Gilbert Blythe and in tears when Anne sang of her birth parents. But no song touched me more than that of Peter Deiwick's Gilbert, as he declared his undying love to Anne. Deiwick and Mélanie LeBlanc's voices blended so well, often giving me goosebumps. Their connection on stage blew me away.

The fiddling of Sean Kemp, who plays Moody MacPherson, and the musicianship of Mark Haines, Diane Leah and Rick Tersteeg brought the songs to life.

What -- or who - will truly make this show a hit and Jubilee Theatre the place to be this summer are the lead actors, LeBlanc and Deiwick.

Bravo to the show's producers for their selections.

LeBlanc perfectly captured what I envisioned a more grown-up Anne to be. Although I felt at times she over-enunciated her lines, the young actress was mesmerizing.

One of her most memorable lines was when Gilbert suggested she'd write about herself rather than pen fiction. She quips: "Who wants to read about Anne of Green Gables?"

Deiwick brings a maturity and vulnerability to the role of Gilbert. He was sensitive, yet funny, the perfect actor to play the man that is patient enough to wait for the woman he's loved so long.

At first, I couldn't envision songstress Laura Smith as Marilla. But once she took to the stage and I heard her haunting, yet tender voice in song,I had to applaud the producers for making the right choice. As she sings of a love lost I could almost feel her pain.

Other notables include local lass Jemima Sutherland. Although she played one of the background characters, Annetta Bell, her infectious smile and sweet voice could not be overlooked.

Heidi Ford was flawless as Anne's rival Josie Pye. She was spunky, funny and although small in stature, a big draw on stage.

The calibre of the cast in Anne and Gilbert - a mixture of seasoned and fresh new talent - was amazing. They gelled, executing song and dance almost in unison.

The only negative, I found the show a little long. At more than two hours, I was a little tired and stiff when I left the theatre at 10:40 p.m.

But, without a doubt, it was worth it. When the curtain fell, I couldn't clap hard enough.

I loved this show. Anne and Gilbert should be on everyone's must-see list this summer.

Oh, one tip - bring a tissue for the second act. You'll need it.

Playwright James M. Barrie once described the importance of charm to a woman: "If you have it, you don't need to have anything else; and if you don't have it, it doesn't much matter what else you have."
He could have also been speaking about musicals, especially ones like Anne & Gilbert, which is enjoying a successful run at the Harbourfront Jubilee Theatre on Prince Edward Island.

This is a show with charm in abundance and that quality helps it glide by some imperfections to emerge as a property deserving of a life beyond the confines of this island where Lucy Maud Montgomery is practically the patron saint.

If you haven't guessed by the title, Anne & Gilbert is a sequel to the evergreen classic Anne of Green Gables and is based on the next two books in Montgomery's series: Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island.

It picks up where the first show ended, with the feisty redheaded orphan teaching school in Avonlea, wishing she could go "away" to college and suffering through her on again-off again romance with the handsome Gilbert Blythe.

It's taken nearly a decade for this musical's three authors to get their show onto the stage and once again Toronto writers had to leave town to get their work produced.

Nancy White, the well-known satirical songstress, collaborated on the score with Bob Johnston, who teaches music at Wexford School of the Arts in Scarborough. New Yorker Jeff Hochhauser joined them to write the book and assist on the lyrics.

What they've done keeps the essential tone of Montgomery's work without seeming like a fusty museum piece. The music has real melodic grace and invention, often veering off into unexpected harmonies and rhythms that lift it above conventional musical-theatre fare.

The lyrics are well-crafted, serious when called for (Anne's moving final song, "Forever in My Life") but often wryly amusing, as in the hymn to the eccentricities of P.E.I. residents, "You're Island Through and Through."

And Hochhauser's book, while suffering a bit from the compression mania that befalls anyone who tries to put novels onstage, still creates at least a dozen arresting characters who hold our interest throughout.
The production now playing in Summerside is solid enough to show the work's quality, but there are ways it could be better.

Duncan McIntosh's staging lacks the visual flair of this director's best work, while his choreography is often anachronistic and simplistic to a fault.

Although he's encouraged CanStage regular Phillip Clarkson to design more than 100 scrumptious costumes, the scenery by John Dinning remains blandly beige.

For a show set largely in a location where the sky is such an important part of the emotional and visual landscape, Dinning and McIntosh's decision to keep us inside a solid wooden box all night seems odd and gives Elizabeth Asselstine few opportunities to provide striking lighting.

The cast also varies in quality. Peter Deiwick is a wonderful Gilbert, cocky yet compassionate, warm as a summer rainfall and good-looking enough to melt the hearts of every girl onstage. Mélanie LeBlanc's Anne is more problematic. She sings beautifully but speaks with a pronounced Acadian accent that plays against the verbal dexterity essential to Anne Shirley, meaning the show lacks a certain spark at its core.

There's fine work from Laura Smith as a compassionate Marilla, Pam Stevenson as a droll Mrs. Lynde, Heidi Ford as a vixenish Josie Pye, Sarah Sheps as an ebullient Diana Barry and Natalie Sullivan as a flirtatious Philippa. But several of the other roles are played with a lack of experience or commitment.
In the end, the strength of the writing and the joy of the experience make this one a winner.

It filled a 150-seat theatre last summer and is doing the same at a 400-seat venue this year. The next step is one that many Islanders simultaneously desire, yet dread: it's time for Anne & Gilbert to visit the mainland.

I like to think they'd receive an enthusiastic welcome here.