P.E.I. news: Young actor fulfills dream to play Anne Shirley

A young actor from Prince Edward Island is getting the chance to fulfill a childhood dream, playing the precocious and iconic Anne Shirley on stage.

Rebekah Brown has been with Anne and Gilbert since 2019, learning nearly every female role in the show, but now the 20-year-old gets to take the lead.

“I’ve always loved Anne. I never thought I’d get to play her, especially so young,” said Brown. “I had always looked at some other characters and said, you know, ‘that’s achievable,’ I can play Josie Pye, you know. I could do those ones, but Anne is a little out of reach.”

The show covers Lucy Maud Montgomery’s second two books, and tells the story of Anne as a young woman in her blossoming romance with Gilbert Blythe.

Brown said she has had a long time obsession with the character.

“I was her for Halloween. I used to dye my hair red whenever I was allowed to,” said Brown. “I would sing songs from Anne of Green Gables and Anne and Gilbert in the music festival growing up.”

Brown is one of the two youngest leads in the show’s history.

This is the 20th year for the show and its producer says the cast is young and local, relying heavily on Island talent like Brown.

“There are people that’ve been in this show six, seven, eight years. They don’t like to leave it. It’s kind of a family. A lot of people start as kids, and they stay with us,” said Campbell Webster. “In fact, Rebekah, this year, she started in the company young. She was, you know, in her mid-teens, and now she’s playing Anne.”

As for Brown, she said she’s lucky to have the chance to take on the iconic role.

The show runs at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall from May until October.