Come From Away to feature all-Canadian cast in new 2018 production
Musical slated to run in Winnipeg, Toronto starting Jan. 4
Come From Away will feature an all-Canadian cast when the hit homegrown musical returns to Canada next year with a new production.
Co-created by Canadian husband-and-wife duo Irene Sankoff and David Hein, the Tony-winning musical is set in Gander, N.L., in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. The east coast town saw its population swell as townspeople sheltered 6,579 passengers and crew from 38 planes diverted when U.S. air space was closed.
Award-winning stage veteran Lisa Horner will portray Gander resident and 9/11 volunteer Beulah Cooper, while Kristen Peace (Kinky Boots) will star as Bonnie Harris, the real-life SPCA manager in Gander who helped care for animals in the diverted planes.
Eliza-Jane Scott (Degrassi) will star as real-life retired pilot Beverley Bass, who made history as the first female captain for American Airlines.
George Masswohl will portray Gander Mayor Claude Elliott, while jazz singer and Stratford Festival veteran Barbara Fulton and stage performer James Kall will star as stranded passengers Diane and Nick, whose love blossoms in Newfoundland.
Performances are slated to begin at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto on Feb. 13, 2018.
Toronto's Mirvish Productions has also announced that the show will be in Winnipeg for a limited four-week engagement ahead of its Toronto showcase, from Jan. 4 to Feb. 3, 2018, at the John Hirsch Mainstage at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.
Come From Away is also preparing for a North American tour next year, kicking off at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre in October 2018.
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Come From Away was staged in La Jolla, Calif., Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Toronto ahead of its current award-winning run in New York.
The play was nominated for seven Tonys, with Christopher Ashley nabbing the show's sole trophy, for best director of a musical, at the glitzy ceremony last month.
The musical will also be the subject of a new documentary. Come From Away: From Gander to Broadway is currently in production and is being helmed by award-winning Canadian filmmaker Moze Mossanen (Unsung: Behind the Glee).