The opening night of Come From Away at the National Arts Centre on Thursday was a true celebration, complete with a lively on-stage kitchen party involving folks from Gander, N.L . whose stories are central to Canada’s most successful musical ever.
Former Ottawa resident David Hein, who co-wrote the international smash hit with his wife, Irene Sankoff, publicly recognized “the shoulders we stand on” while thanking the city and the NAC for exposing him to the arts when he was younger. At the end of the show – which inspired an instant standing ovation— he took to the stage at the NAC’s Babs Asper Theatre.
Hein’s very first drama class was at Lisgar Collegiate, where he attended high school. He also joined its drama club. As well, he has a connection to local arts and cultural facility Arts Court, where he attended theatre camp.
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And then there’s the National Arts Centre — Canada’s home for the performing arts located in the heart of our city. “I saw my first musical here at the NAC,” he said, speaking to a near-capacity crowd.
“To the audiences who have supported new Canadian works and the arts in this country, thank you so much.”
Sankoff is performing in the show exclusively during its limited run in Ottawa. Come From Away, co-presented by Mirvish Productions and the NAC’s English Theatre, returns to Toronto next month to reopen at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. It was shut down during the pandemic.
The show features an all-Canadian cast (including Ottawa-raised Steffi DiDomenicantonio).
Hein also helped to introduce the special visitors from Gander, whose stories inspired the musical. They included Claude Elliott, who’d been the mayor when the town, along with surrounding municipalities, welcomed thousands of passengers grounded there in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. The townsfolk looked after the displaced visitors over the next five days until air travel could resume.
“But, you know, a lot of lessons was learned, certainly by us in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Elliott in a Newfoundland accent so thick it made you smile. “We’re good, kind, generous people. We don’t want anything in return.
“I always say that love, kindness and compassion will outdo evil any day of the year,” he continued, his words greeted with heartfelt applause from his audience. “On the first day, we had 7,000 strangers in our town. On the third day, we had 7,000 friends, and on the fifth day [when air travel finally resumed] we lost 7,000 family members. That’s how close we became to those people and they became to us.”
Elliott credited Hein and Sankoff for having such foresight. “I remember when they came into my office and, when they left, I remember saying to the town manager ‘That young couple’s going to end up on welfare’,” said Elliott, sending the audience into one of its many fits of laughter. Elliott said he just couldn’t see how they were going to tell a musical about sandwiches, blankets, pillows — the type of provisions they were handing out to the stranded passengers.
“But I’ll tell you ladies and gentlemen, they did a phenomenal job.”
Elliott spoke about how touched he remains by the support provided by residents of his town and province. “We had people bringing food as far as a five hours’ drive … I was so proud of Gander and I was so proud to be from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and I was even prouder to be a Canadian.”
The cast and crew celebrated at a VIP post-show party in the NAC’s O’Born Room. It almost felt like a pub thanks to the live music performed by the Bytown Sea Shanty Collective. The visitors from Gander were all invited and, not surprisingly, had no trouble striking up conversations with strangers.
NAC president and CEO Christopher Deacon congratulated Nina Lee Aquino, artistic director of English Theatre at the NAC, and managing director David Abel, for bringing Come From Away to the NAC audience. The musical has toured the world, telling the story of generosity of the residents of Gander and the surrounding communities, said Deacon, referring to the show’s inspiring message. “It has provided us as Canadians a reminder of what we’re capable of at our best moments.”
The production, which runs in Ottawa until Sept. 1, officially closes out the NAC’s 2023-2024 season for English Theatre, which is already hard at work on its next season, opening in just a few weeks, said Deacon.
Among the audience members spotted at the post-show party were Ottawa business leaders with a passion for arts and culture, including Thomas d’Aquino, a former CEO of what’s now known as the Business Council of Canada; Lisa Samson, principal at StrategyCorp’s Ottawa office; and Kevin Ford, CEO of Calian Group.
Ford, who’d been invited to attend by the NAC Foundation, told OBJ.social he’d been wanting to see Come From Away for some time. “It was amazing,” he said at the party, telling NAC Foundation CEO Juniper Locilento: “The 100 minutes flew by like it was 10 seconds.”
Ottawa-Vanier MP Mona Vanier, who’d previously seen the musical on Broadway in New York City, was delighted to take in the performance in her hometown. “You could feel the kindness in the production.”
Attendees also included British-native Nick Marson and his American wife, Diane Marson. They were among the airline passengers that found themselves stuck in Gander and, subsequently, fell in love and got married. They live in Houston, Texas. The couple never gets tired of seeing Come From Away. Said Nick: “As Diane will say, we’ve seen it 155 times now and every time it’s like we’re renewing our vows.”
