Kindred spirits onstage and off: Bosom friends celebrated in book

A soon-to-be-launched book will celebrate the friendship of two P.E.I. girls who came to play fictional friends Anne Shirley and Diana Barry in Anne of Green Gables: The Musical at the Charlottetown Festival.

Gracie Finley and Glenda Landry were on the stage for many years in the 1970s and 1980s in the iconic P.E.I. roles. They are still friends to this day.

"The imaginary world and the real world come together," said author Michel Bourque.

"I was really inspired by their amazing story of friendship. How wonderful was that, that two girls from Charlottetown became best friends, got to play two other Island girls imaginary girls, Anne and Diana but living this wonderful dream onstage and offstage."

It was a story Bourque felt children in particular would be interested in, and that's the target audience for Meet Me at Green Gables, the True Story of Gracie and Glenda.

The book includes the story of how hard the two worked taking singing and dancing lessons in order to realize their dreams of making it to the Confederation Centre stage.

The book will have its official launch on July 5.

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