At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales

At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales was published in 1994. The book contains 18 of L.M. Montgomery's short stories that were rediscovered and edited by Rea Wilmshurst. The tales in this collection all involve themes of love conquering obstacles. The stories contained in the volume are listed below with their original publication dates in parentheses:

"Aunt Philippa and the Men" (1915)
"A Dinner of Herbs" (1928)
"Jessamine" (1909)
"The Pennington's Girl" (1900)
"The Gossip of Valley View" (1910)
"The Pursuit of the Ideal" (1904)
"By the Rule of Contrary" (1908)
"Nan" (1904)
"The Wooing of Bessy" (1906)
"Miss Cordelia's Accommodation" (1903)
"The Twins and a Wedding" (1908)
"Them Notorious Pigs" (1904)
"The Dissipation of Miss Ponsonby" (1906)
"An Unconventional Confidence" (1903)
"The Way of Winning Anne" (1899)
"The Touch of Fate" (1899)
"What Aunt Marcella Would Have Called It" (1935)
"When Jack and Jill Took a Hand" (1905)

Image Credit:
Book cover of my Bantam 1995 edition of At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales featuring artwork by Ben Stahl. Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

Purchase and read At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales:



Created May 26, 2006. Last updated May 21, 2024.
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Anne of Green Gables (1991)

Anne of Green Gables (1991) is a play adapted by R.N. Sandberg from the novel Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. The play was commissioned by the Seattle Children’s Theatre in Seattle, Washington and had its world premiere there in 1991.

The full-length play is 105 minutes long. There is also a one-act version of the play that is 60 minutes long. The scripts for both the full-length and one-act versions of the play are available through Dramatic Publishing.

The play is described as follows:
“A faithful, unsentimental dramatization of the first part of the beloved classic. Commissioned and premiered by Seattle’s Children’s Theatre.

Marilla Cuthbert and her brother Matthew request an orphan boy to help work their farm but are mistakenly sent the high-spirited, red-headed Anne Shirley. Knowing they are ill equipped to raise a child, Marilla attempts to send Anne back to the orphanage. With Matthew lobbying to keep Anne, Marilla ultimately agrees to let her stay at Green Gables. The trials and tribulations Marilla fears come to pass as Anne insults Marilla's best friend, “loses” Marilla's most cherished brooch, smacks the school's prize pupil with a slate, and inadvertently gets her best friend Diana drunk on cherry cordial. She also turns out to be bright, charming and resourceful, full of irresistible imagination. Marilla and Matthew admit she is the best thing that ever happened to them, and Anne comes to understand she is a loved, worthwhile person.”


Image Credit:
Photograph by Chris Bennion of Anne of Green Gables by R.N. Sandberg, which was performed at the Seattle Children's Theatre in 1991. The photograph is featured on R.N. Sanberg's website.

Created May 22, 2006. Last updated June 16, 2024.
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Emily (1999)

Emily (1999) is a musical by Richard Ouzounian and Marek Norman based on the Emily of New Moon trilogy (Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, and Emily’s Quest) by L.M. Montgomery. Richard Ouzounian, who is a theatre critic, writer, and director, wrote the book and lyrics. Marek Norman, who is a composer, actor, and producer, wrote the orchestral music.

Emily made its world premiere on June 19, 1999 at the Charlottetown Festival at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The musical starred Tracy Michalidis as Emily Starr. The musical was successful and returned the following season in 2000. The script was published by McArthur and Company in 2000.

Emily is described in the published script as follows:
"EMILY is a new Canadian musical based on the famous trilogy by Lucy Maud Montgomery: EMILY OF NEW MOON, EMILY CLIMBS, and EMILY'S QUEST. The three books deal with the growth of a young woman on Prince Edward Island at the turn of the century, both as an individual and as a writer. Many commentators feel that Emily contains Montgomery's fantasy of the choices she wishes she had made in her life. EMILY was first presented at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown in June of 1999 and instantly became a smash hit, proving to be one of the most popular shows in the festival's thirty-five year history. It will be returning for the 2000 season, and a subsequent tour is in the works. Included here is an introduction by Richard Ouzounian, the entire play's script, and four original songs from the musical.”

The four songs included in the book are: “The Dream Begins,” “Disappointed House,” “There Will Be Another Rainbow,” and “This Island.”


Image Credit:
Front cover of the Emily script by Richard Ouzounian and Marek Norman featuring a photograph of Tracy Michalidis as Emily Starr from The Charlottetown Festival (1999). The photograph is by Barrett and MacKay. The script was published by McArthur and Company in 2000.

Created May 21, 2006. Last updated June 22, 2024.
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Anne of Green Gables (1990)

Anne of Green Gables (1990) is a play adapted by Sylvia Ashby from the novel Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. The play premiered at the Lubbock Community Theatre in Lubbock, Texas in October 1990. It was directed by Cliff Ashby. The cast featured Ali Selim as Anne Shirley, Linda Huckabee as Marilla Cuthbert, Harlan Reddell as Matthew Cuthbert, Karen Copple as Rachel Lynde, Susan Andrews as Mrs. Blewitt, Andy Hutton as Gilbert Blythe, Jamie Boylan as Diana Barry, and Alayna Roberts as Josie Pye.

The two-act play is 120 minutes long. The script is available through Baker’s Plays and Concord Theatricals.

The play is described as follows:
“A refreshing, contemporary telling of the classic story. Stern Marilla and her warm-hearted brother Matthew hoped to adopt a boy to work on their farm. But the orphanage sends young, befreckled Anne by mistake, and their lives will never be the same. Her warmth and wit affect everyone around her - even, eventually, the cold Marilla. We follow Anne through her rebellious years, her transformation into a young woman, and her romantic pairing with Gilbert. This play has been charming audiences around the world.”

Image Credit:
Photograph of Anne of Green Gables featuring Ali Selim as Anne Shirley and Susan Andrews as Mrs. Blewitt posted by the Lubbock Community Theatre.

Purchase the Anne of Green Gables script:

Created May 21, 2006. Last updated June 13, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

The Strike at Putney Church (2005)

The Strike at Putney Church (2005) is a play written by Eliza Jane Wilson that was based on a short story by L.M. Montgomery. The play premiered at The Arts Guild in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on November 17, 2005. The play was produced by ACT (A Community Theatre) and was directed by Paul Whelan.

Eliza Jane Wilson based the play on an L.M. Montgomery short story, titled "The Strike at Putney." This story can be read in the collection Against the Odds: Tales of Achievement, which was edited by Rea Wilmshurst.

The play is described as follows: "It is 1922 in rural PEI. The women of Putney Church are outraged when the elders deny a famous female missionary the opportunity to speak in the church. The women retaliate by going on strike!"

Image Credit:
Poster for The Strike at Putney Church (2005) from the ACT website.

Created November 29, 2005. Last updated May 21, 2024.
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Anne of Green Gables U-Haul Truck

When I opened my front door today, I found this Anne of Green Gables U-Haul truck parked right outside my apartment. I took this photograph of it from my doorstep.

The under the illustration of Anne and Green Gables, the side of the truck reads:

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
HOME OF THE LEGENDARY ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
FOYER DE LA LÉGENDAIRE «ANNE DE LA MAISON AUX PIGNONS VERTS»

Seeing the truck made me smile. It's always nice to have a reminder of Prince Edward Island and Anne Shirley.

Here's a crisper view of the Anne Shirley graphic art from the U-Haul website:



Created September 3, 2005. Last updated June 10, 2022.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables Miniature Diorama

My boyfriend gave me a blind box, which he spotted while traveling in Seattle. It's from the "Little Anime Series World Masterpiece Theater" collection. Each box contains a miniature diorama from one of five World Masterpiece Theater anime series produced by Nippon Animation. One of the anime series included is Anne of Green Gables (Akage no An). Knowing that I love Anne of Green Gables, my boyfriend bought a box for me and hoped for the best. Lucky for me, my box contained the Anne of Green Gables scene.

This blind box collection was manufactured by MegaHouse in 2003. The five World Masterpiece Theater series included in the collection are: Anne of Green Gables (1979), 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (1976), Rascal the Raccoon (1977), A Dog of Flanders (1975), and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1980). The scenes for the five series are depicted on the sides of the blind box and on the insert inside the box (pictured below):





Inside the red box was a pink case that looked like a tiny book:



A brown plastic box, designed to look like wood, slides out of the pink case:



Opening the box reveals the eight items shown below: the Green Gables kitchen, Matthew's couch and shoes, the Green Gables kitchen table, a bowl, a pair of birds, and three characters: Matthew Cuthbert, Marilla Cuthbert, and Anne Shirley:



Here's a closer view of Matthew Cuthbert (who's asleep), Marilla Cuthbert, and Anne Shirley (carrying a layered cake):



Here are a few views of the Anne of Green Gables diorama with Matthew asleep on his couch, Marilla bustling about the kitchen, and Anne carrying a lovely layered cake (that hopefully is flavored with vanilla instead of liniment):





Here's a close-up view of the Green Gables diorama:



Created June 27, 2005. Last updated January 20, 2024.
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Anne & Gilbert: The Musical (2005)

Anne & Gilbert: The Musical (2005) is a musical based on stories from the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery. The musical premiered at the Victoria Playhouse in Victoria–By-the-Sea, Prince Edward Island on August 4, 2005. The first act of the musical is based on Anne of Avonlea, and the second act is based on Anne of the Island. The story was adapted for the stage by Jeff Hochhauser, Nancy White, and Bob Johnston.

I was fortunate to watch the musical in 2006 at the Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside. It's a wonderful production, and the songs are charming.

A CD featuring some of the songs and a book based on the Anne & Gilbert musical are available online. You can also listen to the album at Apple Music.


Official Site:
Anne and Gilbert: The Musical

Image Credit:
Promotional artwork from Anne & Gilbert: The Musical.

Purchase the Anne & Gilbert cast recording and check out the script and lyrics book:

Created June 3, 2005. Last updated May 12, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com