Steve Bellamy, left, chief executive officer of the Confederation Centre of the Arts, said on Nov. 24 that Anne of Green Gables-The Musical will now be shown at the Sobey Family Theatre every two years. Adam Brazier, artistic director of the Charlottetown Festival, said part of the decision is to allow to tell other stories. - Dave Stewart/The GuardianCHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The curtain will not rise on the centrepiece of the Charlottetown Festival in 2023.
“This gives us space to do new work and dive in and create new programming like Tell Tale Harbour,’’ Bellamy told SaltWire Network, referring to the Alan Doyle-led show in 2022. The production ran annually for more than 50 years, from 1965-2019, returning to the stage in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adam Brazier, artistic director of the festival, said the decision wasn’t financially driven, meaning the musical wasn’t struggling at the box office. Corryn Clemence, chief executive officer of the Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I. , said there is no arguing the musical has been a staple in the Island’s calendar every summer.