“Stage-storming choreography… connected by evocative movement and tidy transitions”

“This Pollyanna explores shadows and sunshine almost entirely through song. And those songs sneak up on you in the dark, the way theatre songs used to do.

There’s a five-alarm roof-raiser called ‘Never Give Up,’ a sort of rollicking power anthem with Beldingville’s boisterous townsfolk flouncing from proscenium to proscenium resplendent in Julie Tomaino’s stage-storming choreography.

There are darker moments, too, the soaring, dramatic ones like ‘Where Do I Go from Here’ sung by a troubled Pollyanna and her icicle-hearted Aunt Polly.

What makes all this theatrical wizardry work and ultimately sets fire to your heart, is imaginative director Robert McQueen’s elegant, almost minimalist staging. He allows scenes to melt together, connected by evocative movement and tidy transitions.”

GARY SMITH