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[0:01] John Schwab: Hi, John Schwab here, and welcome to the Curtain Call Theatre Podcast. Just a short intro to announce the re-release of the Welcome to the Rock series that commemorates the 25th anniversary of the terribly tragic events of 9-11. Now, I know we've released these before, but this is such a monumental time to reflect on the last quarter of a century, a period where, let's face it, sometimes life doesn't seem to have got much better. But the story of Gander is such a feel-good story. Come From Away is such a feel-good musical. And Welcome to the Rock is such a feel-good series. We're really proud of it. So hopefully, you'll leave today's episode in a good mood. Thank you and enjoy. Come From Away shares the incredible real-life story of the 7,000 airline passengers from all over the world who were grounded in Canada during the wake of 9-11, and the small Newfoundland community that invited these Come From Aways into their lives.

As uneasiness turned into trust, and music swirled into the night, gratitude grew into friendships, and their stories became a celebration of hope, humanity, and unity. As you've heard in previous episodes in this series, Come From Away had humble beginnings as a college theatre festival workshop production, before ending up on Broadway, Toronto, a US tour, the West End, Australia, and even a run in Shanghai. But before opening at the Phoenix Theatre in London's West End, we heard from the company about their pre-West End run in Dublin. And before that, the cast had a launch party at the Canadian Embassy in London's Trafalgar Square. And in this episode, we're giving you a front row seat at that party with exclusive recordings from the London cast.

But first, we talked to the producers at Junkyard Dog and Smith and Brent Theatricals to find out why it was so important that the Come From Away team took their first European steps at the Canadian consulate.

[2:08] Producer: It is a Canadian story, and we've always wanted to be mindful of that, even though it was the Broadway launch that kind of kicked it off. It's a Canadian story. It was originally developed at Sheridan College, which is outside of Toronto. David and Irene are Canadian. There are many, many connections. So the launch party, very early on, we started having conversations with Canada House. They're obviously very proud of this story. They're obviously very proud of the writers, and it felt like we should involve them. We started having conversations very early on. Janice, who's the High Commissioner, very early on said, we're on board, we'll help how we can. And that relationship has grown and developed over time.

So it felt like, number one, I mean, Canada House is one of the most beautiful buildings in London, and it is a fantastic spot. It felt like a no-brainer. Why wouldn't we do it there? So we did. And we've had relationships with the different consulates here. When we were at Ford's, we had a party in Seattle. Seattle, they were the ones who brought Mayor Elliott out to see the show for the first time. And the Consul General here was a good friend and supporter of the show. They put together that amazing event. The week after we opened, when the Prime Minister came to see the show with Ivanka Trump, they put all that together. So when we were talking about London, before we even had a venue, before we even had a plan in place, we asked the Consul General here to introduce us to Janice over there.

And so we started to have those conversations right from the beginning. And Canada understands that, again, this show is a wonderful calling card for them. And we were introducing the cast for the first time. And it was important for us for it also to be slightly more educational. And also we wanted the UK-based Come From Aways to be over so that people would meet them and they would begin to tell their story and people would begin to understand how it does relate to every country in the world. But we wanted to inform as well. So we had quite a lot of... We had almost an exhibition about Gander and some statistics about Gander. But it was there to do two things. It was, of course, there to introduce the cast.

Absolutely. But it was also very much to stake a claim for Canada. And it was also to not shy away from the fact that this is a Canadian musical. It's by Canadian writers. We think that's important. But also we wanted it to be... People were still walking into that launch not knowing really what it was about. So we also wanted to give people enough information just to whet their appetite as to how interesting the story is. And I think we achieved that. But likewise, we took a lot of people to Dublin. We took a lot of people to New York on 9-11 last year. We took a lot of people over to see the show and also to take part in the day of service. So we took people over to do that. So we did a lot of stuff that culminated in the launch about informing people about the show and about the journey and about the story.

We've enjoyed a wonderful relationship all the way through the development. So it was kind of a no-brainer. And then when they said, well, you should have your launch here, we were like, whoa, yes, we should. And thank you. Thank you very much.

[5:31] Producer: The venue was confirmed, but the cast wouldn't start rehearsals for more than a month, which meant that the Associate Music Director, Wendy Bobbitt-Cavett, had to fly over to London from New York. And she had less than two days to prepare three numbers from the show. After a welcoming Canadian breakfast of pancakes and maple syrup, an audience of guests, including press, industry professionals, Come From Aways that were engendered during the wake of 9-11, were greeted by Sarah Fountain-Smith, the Deputy High Commissioner for Canada in the UK, and kicked the whole thing off.

[6:01] Sarah Fountain-Smith: And it's my great pleasure to welcome you all here this morning for the launch of Come From Away. Bienvenue à la maison du Canada. Come From Away is a musical which is very close to the hearts of Canadians. It's already touched audiences in Canada and in the United States. And we're thrilled that it will now be shared with new fans, both in Ireland and right here in the West End. Come From Away is set in the Canadian eastern province of Newfoundland, whose spectacular, rugged, natural beauty is only surpassed by the warmth, resilience, and strength of character of its people. Newfoundlanders are also known for their infectious sense of humour and their unique accent and turn of phrase, which can sometimes be challenging for those from away, including other Canadians, to understand.

Come From Away is a story about how friends step up to help each other in times of crisis. In this case, in the dark days of terror following the 9-11 attacks, when planes from around the world were diverted from US airspace to the small community of Gander, Newfoundland. Like the people of Gander, Canada is committed to the values of respect and friendship towards our neighbours, towards our allies and those in need. This is the thread that runs through our key relationships and our engagement at the United Nations, in NATO, the Commonwealth, the G7, and the G20. We firmly believe that when we help each other and when we work together, we can overcome adversity. A very timely message, epitomized by the people of Gander 17 years ago, and now brought forth to the stage in Come From Away. There was also an unexpected video message from the show's creators, Irene Sankoff and David Hine.

[8:02] Irene Sankoff and David Hine: We are so sorry that we can't be with you today. We're currently in Seattle, where the North American tour of Come From Away is in previews and it's opening on October the 12th. Our anniversary. Otherwise, you know, we'd be celebrating with you all. When we first started Come From Away over six years ago, we thought that the only people that might perform it would be Canadian high school students who would be forced to do it. But instead what we found is that this incredible story is universal somehow. It's a story about how we all felt on that day. We've seen that no matter where people come from, they all connect to this in the same way that we did when we heard the story in the first place, because we all wanted to be able to do something that day.

We all wanted to be able to help. People around the world are hungry right now for stories about kindness. This is a story about people coming together, which is needed now more than ever before. It's a story about the world coming to a small town and we can't wait to share it with the world. We're so excited that Come From Away is coming to Dublin and the West End. Welcome to the Rock!

[8:58] John Brandt and Joe Smith: The show's UK producers, John Brandt and Joe Smith, were next up to say something, with the anticipation in the room growing with every minute passed. As the musical Come From Away continues, sold out, record-breaking engagements on Broadway and in Canada, with a 60-city North American tour opening in Seattle tonight, Come From Away will make its European premiere at the Abbey Theatre Dublin this December, before opening at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End in January 2019. Written by Irene Sankoff and David Hine, this multi-award-winning musical, Come From Away, tells the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded air passengers from all over the world and the small towns in Newfoundland that welcomed them into their lives.

As John said, true stories really form the heart of what happened over those five days and in the lead-up to the announcement today, we've been doing a lot of work across the country really, in terms of other people who've come forward who were both on those planes and in Gander during those five days, and it's really their stories, as well as the stories you're going to hear in the show, that form the basis of the community around the show. We're delighted to have some of those people with us today. I'm not going to point them all out, but as you've been so social during the course of the morning, I'm sure some of you have met some of those people already, and after the event is over, I'm sure you will be meeting more of them.

[10:29] John Brandt: So here now, to welcome you to the Rock for the first time, is the UK and Ireland cast of Come From Away. Guys?

[10:42] John Brandt: With the introductions complete, and with less than two days of rehearsal, let alone knowing each other under their belts, the company from the West End cast were about to perform the opening track of the musical for the first time on European soil to an audience that didn't know what to expect.

[11:26] ♪ Musical number: "Welcome to the Rock" — performed by the UK and Ireland cast of Come From Away ♪

[11:50] ♪ Musical number: "Welcome to the Rock" — performed by the cast of Come From Away ♪

[14:47] Unknown speaker: That was quite an introduction to the show. And an incredible reaction for the cast. What did it mean to the company that got to perform that day after less than 48 hours together?

[14:54] Unknown speaker: Hi. I'm going to be a bit cool because I'm excited. So I'm going to get a bit overexcited. That was incredible. It was amazing. Amazing. Great reception. Oh my God it was amazing. It felt so. I was a bit shocked because the audience were right there. But they were so into it. And it felt. It just felt great. Extraordinary feeling in the room. Really was. Really warm and buzzy. It was amazing right. Amazing.

[15:25] Unknown speaker: I think for us it was really cool. Because there were actual Come From Aways down there. I think when we were rehearsing, you kind of forget the story almost. But when we were performing it in front of them, you realize the full extent of what actually happened. And it's a true story. It's incredible. Yeah it's beautiful. Yeah special day.

[15:40] Unknown speaker: And having already started to meet the real people in the story of Come From Away, the cast were also taken by surprise as to how emotional they might feel performing the songs.

[15:48] Unknown speaker: When you learn a new musical, you learn it by technically. And you have to engage a different bit of your brain. And then suddenly you're having to turn it on to all this. The truth of it. And meeting people. And meeting real people. And it's such an important story to tell. So we're so thrilled that we get to. It's just incredible. And it was such a brilliant group of people we were performing to. It just was exciting. Really emotional actually. A lot of us were choking up. It's quite hard to sing when your throat's going. But it's really. It's just beautiful actually. Really exciting. And there's loads of farts. It's brilliant.

[16:27] Unknown speaker: I didn't quite anticipate being quite so emotional I think. Obviously you've read the text. And you've listened to the music and stuff at home. And you've kind of connected. But it's different when you're performing to an audience that were there. That for me was unexpected. And they were welling up. And then you're like. Keep it together. You've got to keep singing. So yeah. Really emotional. Really heartwarming. And it was a good time. I loved it. It was so moving. I didn't realise how close to crying we all were actually. There was a few tears from the cast. But just after a day and a half, two days rehearsal. You know in a dry room. And our minds are going. Let's get this right. Let's get this right.

And then actually. To get that energy from an audience. Of a reaction of what we're doing. It kind of makes you more present. And actually you start listening to what you're caring and singing and talking about. And remembering people's actual real stories. So even though it's not for us to cry. You leave that to the audience. But I couldn't help but get a little bit emotional about it. Because it's still not my story yet. If you know what I mean. I'm still having to find it and learn it. So I'm still one removed. It feels. So I'm very excited to go through that process.

[18:01] Unknown speaker: Something hit me. The enormity. And the emotion. Looking out there. I mean the tears rolling down people's eyes. You know. I think. What's amazing about the show. Is that because it's true. And because if you wrote this as a piece of fiction. People would say. Don't bother. Don't waste your time. It's not going to happen. This is a true story. And you suddenly realize. At a time in the world when we were falling apart. The hell had come to earth. In the middle of nowhere. In a tiny little town. A little seed. A little seed had happened. And it was just showing. That humankind is still out there. And it was interesting. Because I was talking to the rabbi just now. He was there. And he was saying.

How important is this story to get out. And it's true. It's an extraordinary story. It's an extraordinary story about humankind. And humankind is out there. Even amongst all the nonsense we have. So that's the importance of it. It's not just some little musical at all. It's the enormity of the story. And it's the story that we need to get out of it. And I got quite emotional. I've got to be honest. Because I just suddenly realized. Because you get caught up in learning the song. And knowing that. I did a lot of research. Which I love. And then it hits you. What you're doing. Wow. So. Wow. Come and see it. Come and see it. It's an amazing story. Amazing. I mean. It's a. It's a. You're going to get on this.

You're going to get on this escalator. And it doesn't stop until the end. And hopefully you're going to come out with a smile and a tear. We've done our job. And make you think. Makes you think. Makes you think. And that's a good thing.

[19:39] Unknown speaker: So there you have it. The introduction of the hit musical Come From Away to the West End. We hope you've enjoyed your front row seat to hear the first ever performances of the songs in Europe. The beginning of a journey that would see the show pick up four Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical. Join us for the next episode when we start introducing you in a little more detail to the company and their real counterparts. And you'll also hear some of the true stories behind the events you see on stage in Come From Away. But to play us out, please enjoy the West End Company performing Somewhere. And see you in the next episode of Welcome to the Rock.

[20:39] ♪ Musical number: "Somewhere" — performed by the West End Company of Come From Away ♪