December 11, 2006

Emily of New Moon (2007) aka Kaze no Shoujo Emily

Screencap from Emily of New Moon (2007) aka Kaze no Shoujo Emily where Emily Starr is writing by lamplight.

Emily of New Moon
aka Kaze no Shoujo Emily (translated to English as "Emily, the Wind Girl") is an animated television series that was based on L.M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon trilogy.

The Emily of New Moon anime series was a single season with 26 episodes. Each episode was roughly 25 minutes in length. The series was produced by Hideaki Miyamoto, and the series music was by Akira Miyagawa. The series aired on NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) Educational TV from April 7, 2007 to September 29, 2007.

The protagonist Emily Byrd Starr was voiced by actress Tomoko Kawakami. The anime's plot primarily follows that of the novel Emily of New Moon with some scenes from Emily Climbs and Emily's Quest. Set on Prince Edward Island, Canada, the series follows the growth of a young girl Emily Starr. The story begins with Emily, who lives alone with her father. When her father dies, Emily is adopted by her strict Aunt Elizabeth and moves to New Moon Farm. Facing loneliness and isolation, Emily writes letters to her dead father. Emily meets and becomes close friends with Ilse Burnley, Teddy Kent, and Perry Miller. Each of the friends has a special talent. Emily loves to write and dreams of becoming a novelist.

Cast:
Tomoko Kawakami as Emily Byrd Starr
Akemi Okamura as Perry Miller
Kôki Miyata as Teddy Kent
Sachiko Kojima as Ilse Burnley
Emi Shinohara as Kaze no Oba-san (Mrs. Wind) (narration)
Masako Ikeda as Laura Murray
Rokuro Naya as Jimmy Murray
Toshiko Fujita as Elizabeth Murray
Akio Ohtsuka as Mr Carpenter
Atsuko Enomoto as Rhoda Stuart
Aya Hisakawa as Aileen Kent
Chiemi Ishimatsu as Jennie Strang
Kiyoyuki Yanada as Allan Burnley
Misaki Sekiyama as Carrie Strang
Niina Kumagaya as Miss Brownell
Shigenori Sôya as Douglas Starr
Touko Aoyama as Grace and Saucy Sal
Youko Matsuoka as Aunt Ruth

External Link:
Official Emily of New Moon (2007) Website

Image credit:
Drawing of Emily Bryd Starr from Emily of New Moon (2007) aka Kaze no Shoujo Emily. © NHK

Created December 11, 2006. Last updated April 23, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

December 02, 2006

The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery (2008)

The Album Cover of Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery (2008) Musical written by Adam-Michael James and composed by Leo Marchildon

The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery
is a musical written by Adam-Michael James and composed by Leo Marchildon. Based on L.M. Montgomery's life, this musical biography premiered at Kings Playhouse in Georgetown, Prince Edward Island on June 20, 2008. The musical premiere occurred on the exact day of the 100th anniversary of the publication of L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. The musical celebrates the life and the characters created by the legendary Canada's author.

Adam-Michael James documented the progress of the musical in his blog The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery, which provides detailed information on how the production developed.

The official website for the musical provides the following description of the show:

"Maud" soars as she creates her most famous character, "Anne of Green Gables", then additional heroines Kilmeny, Sara, Emily, Valancy, Marigold, Pat, and Jane - making up her nine lives. But when Maud forgets that the power of imagination can change our lives for the negative as well as the positive, her heroines come to life to amuse, enlighten, and entertain!

The creation of Emmy-nominated composer Leo Marchildon and author Adam-Michael James, Nine Lives is an epic multimedia experience that has real-life and fictional characters backed by video footage, archival photos, evocative period music and sumptuous underscore.

Premiering on the 100th anniversary of the publication of "Anne", Nine Lives has been praised for its accuracy and importance to Canada and literature, twice nominated for the PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation's Wendell Boyle Award.


The original cast recording for The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery was released in 2009 by Nine Lives Musicals, Inc. with the following CD release notes:

You've read her books - but how much do you know about her lives? In this dazzling musical by Leo Marchildon and Adam-Michael James, L.M. Montgomery is determined to become a writer and eventually becomes famous the world over for creating Anne of Green Gables. But, as her fictional characters materialize to help her through her increasing struggles, they discover that the power of imagination can change our lives in more ways than one.

Marchildon's sumptuous arrangements traverse the moods and styles of Montgomery's lifetime, from the Scottish reels of the 1880s to the Big Band flavor of the 1930s, while James' insightful lyrics constantly advances the story. The only musical on the life of the quintessential Canadian author comes to CD virtually complete, featuring the original 2008 cast and including Marchildon's "Character Themes Suite" that paints delightful portraits of all eight of Montgomery's fictional heroines. Whether you're a casual L.M. Montgomery fan or a self-professed die-hard, The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery brings all her lives to you in a fresh, exciting way! For more information about the show, visit ninelivesoflmm.com. Label: Nine Lives Musicals, Inc.


The album includes the following songs and character suites:

ACT I
1. Blank Verse/The Alpine Path
2. It's in My Nature
3. I Like You Best
4. An Orphan No More
5. So I Say Farewell
6. More Important Things
7. The Correspondence of Edwin
8. I Am a Newspaper Woman!
9. What Do You Propose
10. An Epoch in My Life
11. Island Hymn
12. Maud Meets Her Public
13. Too Late

ACT II
14. I Hate Interruptions
15. The Race That Knows Joseph
16. 1917
17. Eternally Lost
18. Grumble Book
19. The Dream Life Waltz
20. Character Analysis
21. Two-Timin' Timmy
22. Where is My Happy Ending?
23. The Alpine Path" (finale)

Character Theme Suites
24. Kilmeny
25. Sara
26. Emily
27. Valancy
28. Marigold
29. Pat
30. Jane
31. Anne


Official Site:
The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery (archived)

Image Credit:
Album cover for The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery.

References:
The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery - Original Broadway Cast 2008. Broadway World. Retrieved from: https://www.broadwayworld.com/recordings/The-Nine-Lives-of-L-MMontgomery-2008-Original-Broadway-Cast

Created December 2, 2006. Last updated May 12, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com