The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery
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There are those who say that a show is about evolution. That certainly held true for Nine Lives! Having a workshop and a world premiere season under their belts, Leo and AMJ had a much better idea of what works on stage - and what doesn't. The libretto that AMJ used to be satisfied with he now referred to as "the Neanderthal version" in comparison to the one that went in front of audiences starting 11 July 2009. They added more still images, better video, improved staging and choreography, and now had the use of LED stage lights that not only flooded the stage with more colour, but also the screen when there was nothing to project on it. Mindy Walker returned and made the costumes more colourful, too. But when the decline in tourism owing to swine flu and economic fears made theatre tough going all over Prince Edward Island, the cast and crew of Nine Lives banded together in a true "show must go on" fashion and gave it their all right up until closing night 21 August 2009. If the growing legions of Nine Lives fans are any indication, the show was definitely an artistic triumph! Which only goes to show that this musical has a lot more lives yet to be lived...
 
In Cavendish, Young Maud (Madeline Duffy) makes her vow to climb The Alpine Path.
 		 
Young Maud scares up the courage to try out her poem on frigid Miss Robinson (Kyla Cook).
 
Grandfather and Grandmother Macneill (Paul Whelan and Hazel St. Amand)
discuss their precocious granddaugher.
 		 
Nate (Matt Dumouchel) hopes his friendship with Maud will blossom
into something more in I Like You Best.
 
Maud chugs west to make a home with her father in An Orphan No More.
 		 
Maud's father Hugh (Scott McGuigan) has it out with Maud's step-mother Mary (Brittany Smith).
 
Hugh and Maud sing So I Say Farewell at the train station.
 		 
All grown up, Maud (Natalie Oman) has More Important Things on her mind than boys.
 
Edwin (Anders Balderston) ponders Maud's less-than-enthusiastic response
to their engagement in The Correspondence of Edwiin.
"I am a newspaper woman!"  
 
Maud thinks up what will become her book "Kilmeny of the Orchard".
Cousin Frede (Helen Killorn) teaches Maud the meaning of "kindred spirit". 
 
Anne (Lindsay Kyte) comes to life and joins Maud at the Lake of Shining Waters.
  
Minister Ewan (Brodie MacRae) pleads his case in What Do You Propose.

Maud and Anne each declare it An Epoch In My Life
when "Anne of Green Gables" is finally published.
When Maud Meets Her Public, she is hounded by reporters. 

Guests celebrate Maud's wedding with an eight-hand reel.
Maud, however, feels that it is Too Late.

Maud's time now dominated by motherhood and the church,
fictional Sara (Mallory McInnis) expresses her displeasure in I Hate Interruptions.
Gilbert (Matt Dumouchel) and Anne lament their decreasing presence
in Maud's books because of the new characters around them.

Maud and Frede reaffirm their friendship as members of The Race That Knows Joseph.
Those in Maud's life examine how World War I is affecting her in 1917.

Maud rushes to ailing Frede's bedside.
In the grip of his religious melancholia, Ewan feels he is Eternally Lost.

Maud's journals provide much-needed relief in Grumble Book.
Emily (Madeline Duffy) is created as a mirror image of Maud's younger self.

Maud finds further respite from the rigours of reality in The Dream LIfe Waltz.
New heroine Valancy (Brittany Smith) implores Maud not to keep everything inside.

Little Marigold (Lacey Koughan) thinks writing more about her and less about nature would be "int'resting".
Kilmeny (Kyla Cook) tries to convince her fictional counterparts
that all is not well with Maud in Character Analysis.

Chester (Adam-Michael James) confronts mother Maud about his secret marriage to
Luella (Helen Killorn) in Oh, How Things Change, which was added for 2009.
Jane (Jenny Dunne) worries about Maud's increasingly negative state of mind.

Chester and his mistress kick up their heels during jitterbug number Two-Timin' Timmy.
Anne helps a despondent Maud realize the value of her own work as she says goodbye.

Son Stuart (Anders Balderston) and friend Nora (Renae Perry) are unaware that 
their discussion of Maud's depression is being witnessed by her fictional characters.
Maud wonders Where Is My Happy Ending?

Frede and all eight of Maud's fictional heroines take their place at Maud's side .
Chester and Stuart attend the ceremony declaring L.M. Montgomery
a Canadian of National Importance.

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The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery © 2008-2010 Nine Lives Musicals, Inc.

"L.M. Montgomery", "L.M. Montgomery's signature and cat design", and other names and images created by L.M. Montgomery
are trademarks of the Heirs of L.M. Montgomery, Inc. and are used with permission. All rights reserved.