Michelle Langille as Diane, Ian Sherwood as Nick, and Ryan Rogerson with a Cod. Photo by Stoo Metz.
It was not a secret in the theatre community here that Neptune’s Artistic Director, Jeremy Webb, really wanted to bring the hit Canadian Broadway musical Come From Away to Halifax. It was just a matter of when. Cast members David Light, who plays Kevin T, among other roles, and Martha Irving, who plays Beulah and Delores, both saw the show when it was playing in Toronto, and Light saw their current cast mate, Clint Butler onstage when he went. “He was a swing,” Light says, “he covered everyone.” Ian Sherwood, who plays Nick, among other roles, saw the Broadway cast of the show filmed for Apple TV.
Since the show opened on Broadway in 2017 it has become quite a phenomenon- in Toronto where it was conceived and first brought to life, on Broadway, and, indeed, around the world. The Broadway production was nominated for seven Tony Awards, winning best direction for Christopher Ashley, and the show went on to play for 1,669 performances. The show opened in Toronto, produced by Mirvish, in 2018, and the most recent production just closed in May of 2025. There have been productions of the musical all over the world, including in the West End, in Sweden (in Swedish), in The Netherlands (in Dutch), and in French in Brussels. It has also played in Seoul and in Japan. There are photos of celebrities Sean Hayes, Reba McEntire, Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan, Lin Manuel Miranda, Jim Parsons with a very young Iain Armitage, and Mandy Patinkin (holding a cod) posing with the Broadway cast. It is rare for a Canadian musical to get this kind of global attention, and even more so for the musical to be set on our East Coast- as this one is rooted firmly in Gander, Newfoundland.
David Light, Martha Irving, and Ian Sherwood sat down with me (weeks ago, my apologies) to chat about how special it is to bring this show to Nova Scotia at this time in history.
Come From Away was written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, and it is set on September 11th, 2001 in Gander when the United States airspace was unexpectedly closed in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington DC. 38 planes carrying nearly 7,000 passengers were rerouted to Gander International Airport, in a town that only had 10,000 residents.
“[The story] is really just about humanity,” says Ian Sherwood, “how it shines in this one little community, and multiple communities- it’s more than just Gander. I know Gander factors into Come From Away, but they talk about Lewisporte and Appleton, and all these other communities that also got together, and it’s really about community pulling together, which is probably why it’s so universal. You don’t necessarily have to know anything about Gander, or Canada, or anything like that. As soon as you start seeing neighbours helping neighbours- I think everyone likes to imagine what that is [like] if they don’t have it themselves- it’s so relatable to everyone. The music is also just fun. It’s fun folk music. The reason why folk music exists is because it is for the people, and it’s storytelling, and it’s telling the stories that are often, again, very relatable to communities around the world. When you put that all together, I think you get a show that people instantly go, ‘I’ve never seen this before; I’ve never heard this before, but I instantly have a connection with it.’”
“The writers are exceptional at capturing moments of humanity,” says Martha Irving. “Moments that, just with a sentence, tear your heart- and it’s beautiful in this.”
“There are these tiny little vignettes that are absolutely devastating and heartbreaking, and very simple at times,” says Sherwood. He says that the script can seem deceptively simple sometimes, but that the subtext reflects the relationships and themes of the show. “All the characters have multiple layers. They’re not just caricatures of people from Newfoundland. They’re real people, and they’re based off of real people, and that’s in there if you want to go look for it. So, when you hear the music with the script, and [if] you’re a fan of the music, it just takes the music to another level, and it’s that much more enjoyable.”
David Light says “the cool thing in the show is everybody plays multiple characters.” One of his characters, Garth, the head of the bus driver’s union, isn’t based on one real person, but he represents the real context of what was happening in Gander on September 11th- the school bus drivers were on strike. “Garth butts heads with the mayor because [of the strike and the fact that] they had to get people from the airport to all of these different communities.” He also plays Kevin T. “who was on vacation and ended up getting diverted with his boyfriend, the other Kevin, and they go through a crazy couple rollercoaster. One of them is really into embracing Newfoundland and their culture and seeing the sites, where the other one kind of just wants to get home and get out of there, so there’s a bit of turmoil with them throughout the show. He also struggles with religion through it. He’s got a really fun arc, and he’s really fun to play. I also get to do my best George W. Bush impression,” he says with a hearty laugh.
Martha Irving plays Beulah Davis, a composite of two real women in Gander Beulah Cooper and Diane Davis. “I represent those women in Gander who basically took over the Gander Academy, the school; Beulah took over the legion, and that’s where they housed the ‘plane people,’ as they call them, and took care of them. And I think the reason that they combined those is because Beulah made friends with, and has kept a friendship with, one of the ‘plane people’ whose son was a firefighter, and [Beulah]’s son was a firefighter. Hannah [played in the show by Jenni Burke] is desperately trying to get news of her son… in New York City. So they have a bond. I’m basically representing those incredible people who selflessly took care of everybody”
The musical dramatizes how difficult it was to get through the jammed phone lines in New York City, especially at a time before widespread cellphone use, and how folks were often at the mercy of landlines and answering machines.
“These people [in Gander] had their town size double like that,” Irving says, snapping her fingers, “and [they] had to figure out how to clothe them, and feed them, and care for their souls. Hurting, confused people, who’ve had their city devastated, their country devastated.”
“They kind of had to figure it out in the moment,” says Sherwood, “there was no playbook for it.”
“I also play Dolores,” Irving adds, “Dolores is on the plane. She’s not very happy. But she loves karaoke. That’s all I’m going to say.”
Ian Sherwood plays Nick Marson and Doug Harris. “Doug Harris is from Gander. In real life he’s married to Bonnie Harris [played by Becca Guilderson], who works for the SPCA, and Doug is an air traffic controller, who in real life, I think, is a refuelling engineer. He’s one of the men at the top of the show who gets the news and rushes right to work, and suddenly there’s 14 air traffic controllers on in a very tiny tower trying to manage all these 38 planes that are landing all of a sudden. His track is kind of following his wife, who just doesn’t take no for an answer and has a lot of empathy for animals and family. Doug and Bonnie have three kids and so it’s like he’s doing his job, but also helping Bonnie manage the things that she has to do. My ‘Come From Away’ character is Nick Marson, who is an oil engineer from England, and he is on his way to Texas for a conference and he meets and falls in love with Diane from Texas [during his time in Gander]. They have this very lovely romance that is awkward and beautiful and hurtful and all rooted in a horrible event that happened. They sort of manage that, like, how does that work? They’re only [in Gander] for a few days, and then they have to go their separate ways. It’s a lovely little arc, and I reached out to [the real] Nick Marson, and had a little conversation with him.” Famously, in real life Nick and Diane have since gotten married. “His Facebook profile is a picture of he and Diane,” says Sherwood.
“It’s beautiful,” says Irving. “We need to see shows like this because our hearts need to see shows like this. We need to be reminded that we are all people together. That we work best together.”
“There’s so much turmoil happening in the world right now,” says Light, “and this just really shows the best of humanity and how people can look out for each other and come together in a time of tragedy and grief. Or it can.”
The love and care isn’t just in fictional Gander. There is a lot of it emanating from the actors’ own experiences rehearsing and performing this show together.
“I think because we have an incredibly talented cast, but an incredibly kind cast who love each other, we love each other- seriously, you’re going to feel that on stage watching the show,” says Irving. “That’s special.”
“There hasn’t been a cast that I’ve been in like this in a while where everybody’s clicked so quickly,” says Light. “The support and the love that you feel in the room, I think it’s obvious from the audience. I hope it is, because you don’t get to experience a show like this as a cast often, and it’s beautiful.”
“It’s a little Swiss clock up there too,” adds Sherwood. “There’s a lot of stuff moving in and out. You have to have each other’s backs on stage. There’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of business, a lot of chairs that are moving around. I think David is exactly right, the cast is looking out for each other, and it really feels like everyone is a peer… and is helping each other out [to] make the best show that we can make.”
“We all really wanted to do this show,” says Irving, and Light and Sherwood agree. “Including the musicians,” she adds, “Avery-Jean [Brennan, the Musical Director] said that she had never gotten callbacks from reaching out to see people’s availability as quickly as for this show.”
David Light mentions that the show lands differently with audiences here on the East Coast, where we have so much culturally in common with Newfoundland. “I think a lot of the East Coast jokes played better here than they did in Toronto because- the audience went crazy for a lot of it- because it’s from out here.” And that has been the case for Atlantic Canadians since the show first opened, regardless of which cast folks have seen, it’s resonated with them on a more profound and visceral level.
“My brother saw [the show] on Broadway,” says Irving, “and he said he was never more proud to be an [East Coaster.]”
Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s smash hit musical Come from Away, directed by Jeremy Webb with Musical Direction by Avery-Jean Brennan and Choreography by Liliona Quarmyne, plays at Neptune Theatre’s Fountain Hall (1593 Argyle Street, Halifax) until June 21st, 2026. Performances are Tuesday to Sunday at 7:30pm with 2:00pm Matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are selling fast. You can purchase yours online here, by calling the lovely folks at the Box Office at 902.429.7070, or visiting them in person at 1593 Argyle Street.
Please note: this production includes some instances of coarse language and haze.
Important: Neptune Theatre is unable to validate, refund, or exchange tickets purchased through third-party resale websites. Tickets must be purchased directly at neptunetheatre.com or through the Neptune Theatre Box Office to guarantee entry and customer support.
Neptune Theatre has a range of Accessibility Options for folks (Both Fountain Hall and the Scotiabank Stage are accessible for wheelchairs. Patrons can now purchase wheelchair seats for individual shows online with the promo code WHEELCHAIR. For more information, please contact the Box Office.). Click here for more thorough information.
