Just like Anne Shirley, Colleen Dewhurst (Marilla Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea) was no stranger to the profound impact a teacher can have on a student’s life.  In her autobiography, Dewhurst describes an encounter that undoubtedly changed the way she performed as an actress.  Here is her inspiring account:

W recently brought you the first two chapters of a script written by one of our Road to Avonlea fans, 12-year-old Abigail Shanks.  She has set her original story in the year 1905 and placed the residents of Avonlea in the midst of a mysterious kidnapping.  Here are her next two chapters.  To read the first two, click here!

No one usually equates Anne Shirley with controversy, but this year’s production of Anne of Green Gables: The Musical for the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown has had its fair share over the past few months.  And it all comes down to the fact that the musical is undergoing its first major changes since the 1970’s.

Readers of Rilla of Ingleside are impressed with the novel’s moving portrayal of the way a young woman handled the catastrophic events of the First World War on the homefront.  But they might also be impressed to learn that the novel is even more than a personal commentary on the war by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  It has been accepted by modern historians as a proper and useful tool in classroom lessons about World War One. And this is why.

Kevin Sullivan deliberately placed Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe and Felix King in the center of the chaos of the First World War in order to present a stark contrast to the beauty and innocence of the age of Avonlea.  Their idyllic lives are thrown off balance in the confusion of this new era.

Since her creation more than 100 years ago, the character of Anne Shirley never ceases to stir up a little controversy every now and then - both on and off the page.  This time, a debate has sprung up over a new song about the fiery red-head called “Anne of Green Gables Who Dances on Tables”.

Growing up, two of my greatest loves were Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie.  Each holds an important place in my childhood (and current) memories, but I view the two series very differently.  It never occurred to me that people could argue that one heroine was better than the other.  Until now…

Beginning November 1, brand new exclusive content will be available at sullivanmovies.com!  The site will offer exciting behind-the-scenes videos, Q&A’s with the stars of Sullivan productions, and live streaming of your favourite episodes, with commentary, as well as Sullivan’s many films. 

Though the town of Avonlea and its surroundings are considered to be idyllic, peaceful and safe, not everything that happens to its inhabitants can be described in the same way.  In An Avonlea Christmas the series dives into the great upheaval of the First World War. And when Felix King is declared missing in action, everything is not as it should be.

Many authors of fiction are lucky in that they can inhabit two worlds at the same time – the literary world they’ve created for their characters and the real world that is shaped by real events and real people.  Sometimes, no world is more ideal than the other.  And the line of escape from either becomes very blurred.