It’s been 116 years since L.M. Montgomery wrote about a red-haired orphan girl from Avonlea. Since then, Anne of Green Gables has been featured on screens, stages and most recently a Canadian Audible original audiobook featuring Sandra Oh, Victor Garber, Catherine O’Hara and Michela Luci (as Anne).
But there’s nothing quite like going to the source – that is Prince Edward Island – where Anne is ever present. There, you can watch the musical Anne & Gilbert, based on Montgomery’s sequel, Anne of Avonlea. This year marks the musical’s 20th anniversary; it is not to be confused with Anne of Green Gables: The Musical at Charlottetown’s Confederation Centre. That production holds the Guinness World Record for longest-running annual musical (it began in 1965, although it now runs every other year).
Anne & Gilbert, written by Jeff Hochhauser, Bob Johnston and Nancy White, takes place at the 303-seat Florence Simmons Performance Hall in Charlottetown. The hall is in Holland College, formerly Prince of Wales College, the institution from which Montgomery herself graduated and which serves as the inspiration for Queen’s Academy in the Anne books. The musical follows Anne after graduation as she struggles with being a teacher as well as her feelings for Gilbert Blythe, played by Fredericton native Graysen LaPointe.
It’s a lot of pressure playing one of the most beloved heroines in all of literature – especially on Prince Edward Island. But Rebekah Brown is an islander herself who first joined the musical at 15 in 2019 as a member of the ensemble cast. “I auditioned for several leads but I didn’t think I was in the running for Anne so I was surprised when I got it, but it’s been wonderful to perform this spunky, dreamy, character who I’ve loved all my life,” she says.
Photographer Darren Calabrese followed Brown for a day as she prepared for her role in the 90-minute show.
Editor’s note: (July 8, 2024): This article has been updated to specify the publisher of the Anne of Green Gables audiobook.
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