A little girl from Canada will leap from the page of a book to the stage

of Eisenhower Auditorium this weekend.

The Center for the Performing Arts (CPA) will present the TheatreworksUSA production of Anne of Green Gables at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets for the musical are $15 for the general public and $10 for University Park students and children 18 and younger.

Laura Sullivan, CPA marketing

director, said TheatreworksUSA often brings theater productions to the area, specifically targeting children in grade schools. The company has brought many other productions to campus in the past, including Charlotte's Web in 2003 and Henry and Mudge last January, Sullivan said.

This production is an adaptation of the book Anne of Green Gables written by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery in 1908.

Karla Schmit, education and behavioral sciences librarian at the Paterno Library, said that even though the book is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, readers can still relate to it.

"Even though those things happened in the past, I think we have a nostalgia for what we think of as a simpler time," she said.

The book's main character, Anne Shirley, is a red-haired 12-year-old orphan taken in by a brother and sister who need help with their farm on Prince Edward Island in Canada.

The pair expects to greet a boy at the train station and are instead greeted by Anne, who wins their affection and convinces them to keep her.

"She the kind of girl that everyone wants to be. She's adventurous and imaginative," said Anita Ditz, children's librarian at the Schlow Centre Region Library, 211 S. Allen St.

Emily Helms (junior-international politics) who read the book in elementary school, said she remembers being able to relate to Anne because of the challenges she faced starting a new life.

"I think anyone who's different faces the same problems," Helms said.

Ditz said the story is timeless and helps bridge a generation gap between parents and the children they are encouraging to read the story.

Before the production begins, CPA will hold a "Kidz Connection," featuring crafts, games and snacks an hour before the performance at 1 p.m.

"It's just something fun and family-friendly that adds a little more value to an afternoon theater experience," Sullivan said. After the performance, the cast will appear in the Eisenhower lobby to sign autographs and talk with audience members about the show.

Sullivan said this allows children, some of whom will be attending live theater for the first time, to see the actors personally.

Last Sunday, patrons at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 365 Benner Pike, had another chance to experience Montgomery's original story during a public reading and craft activity sponsored by the CPA.

Sullivan said about 1,000 stu-

dents from surrounding school dis-tricts are scheduled to attend a special matinee performance on Monday afternoon.

"We like the opportunity to bring literature to life onstage," she said.