IRENE SANKOFF & DAVID HEIN
IRENE SANKOFF & DAVID HEIN are the Olivier-award winning, Tony and Grammy nominated, Canadian writing team behind the worldwide award-winning hit Musical COME FROM AWAY, currently playing to over 100 countries on Apple TV+ and around the world. Together, they have written for Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros., HBO and the CW as well as Marvel Comics and the Canadian government. They are the recipients of the FourFreedoms Good Neighbor Award & the Meritorious Service Cross of Canada which recognizes Canadians’ exceptional accomplishments.
A major homecoming run of Come From Away is performing live in Gander with 25th anniversary stagings - what does that mean to both of you today after your show has circled the globe?
"To have the show return and give back to the community that gave the world and us so much is the greatest gift we could ask for. And it's the most immersive theatre experience ever - afterwards, the real people portrayed in the show will take you over to the legion and make you an honourary Newfoundlander. And it's amazing to see people from around the world, who have been inspired just as we were, returning to fill the hotels and restaurants in Gander. In Newfoundland, they say that the kindness they showed the passengers was "just what anyone would have done." It's a joy to be able to show them how extraordinary the world thinks they are."
How many times have you kissed a cod fish and had Screech?
"We have kissed many cods - but none were as disgusting as the first one. We first got screeched in by Mayor Claude Elliot at Beulah's legion with Nick, Diane, Beverley and Tom. The codfish was fresh caught, open mouthed, dripping and disgusting. When Irene had to kiss the fish, she couldn't, so Claude said, "I'll make you a deal. You can kiss the fish or you can kiss me." All of this became a scene in the musical - and the next day we had our first interview with him and I said, "I'm David... and you've already kissed my wife."
Of the 16,000 stories you gathered on your first trip, aside from those that made it into composite characters, is there one particular story that you still think about that did not end up in the show?
"We really tried to fit in everything - but there's still an entire show we do called Cut From Away, filled with cut songs and stories. One song was based on a story that Mayor Elliot told us. He was invited to WAshington D.C. to receive a community resilience award on behalf of his community. He was standing onstage between a mother who had lost her son and the CEO of Canter Fitzgerald, and he didn't feel like he should be there. But after telling the story of what happened in Newfoundland, the mother hugged him and the CEO shook his hand - they said he had given them hope. And he realized that telling their story was important."
The show famously uses just 12 chairs and a couple of tables to build an entire world. During early workshops, what was a spectacular or chaotic goof up that never made it to Broadway?
"Irene's actually performed in the show with the Canadian company, so she's seen live how hard the show is to perform, from switching accents and intricate harmonies, to a million chair moves - you inevitably get people falling, crashing and everything grinding to a halt during rehearsal. But it's practically baked into the show that you lean on and help each other through it as a community - which has become a metaphor for the show itself."
You spent weeks interviewing locals to capture the distinct Newfoundland accent and vocabulary - what is a favourite local slang or idiom and is there one that you desperately tried to fit into a lyric?
"Newfoundland is filled with amazing sayings, but we had to find the balance between authenticity and intelligibility for an audience. The opening song used to have words like "mauzy" and "misky" to describe the weather. And I particularly love the phrase "God Love your Cotton Socks."
Gander famously pooled massive amounts of food to feed 7,000 stranded travelers - if you two were stuck on a tarmac today for 30 hours, is there a snack you would fight each other for?
"What was wonderful about how the Newfoundlanders responded - they sent snacks and whatever was needed to the planes and gave so much to the stranded travellers in the next week. So even if there was a snack we were fighting for, our friends would have provided enough for both of us!"
You've had world leaders, theater royalty and real-life heroes see the show. But what is the most unexpected venue or demographic where you discovered a passionate fanbase?
"Seeing young people who were born after 9/11 who love the show makes us very happy. We originally developed the show with young performers, and we've been lucky to see some of the many school productions that are now happening."
You are partners in marriage and in scriptwriting where your domestic life and creative life occupy the same physical space. What is the most strictly enforced - or completely unspoken rule you've had to establish to protect your marriage from your deadlines?
"We have so many rules - don't discuss work when hangry, don't talk about work in bed - all of which we break all the time! But the best rule is just a reminder that we are in this together and always focused on telling the same story in the best way possible."
What's next for you both on the horizon?
"We just workshopped a new musical called Vienna, about neurodiversity and thinking differently. And we have many new musicals, films and tv shows in the works."
COME FROM AWAY
The worldwide hit musical Come From Away tells the incredible true story of of the people of Gander, Newfoundland, who opened their homes and hearts to thousands of airline passengers who were forced to land there when the U.S. air space was shut down on September 11, 2001.
For Come From Away, Sankoff and Hein won the Olivier award for Best Musical and Best Score and were nominated for Tony Awards for Best Book and Score, Grammy Awards for Best Musical Theater Album, and won the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk awards for Best Book. Come From Away also won three Dora Mavor Moore Awards, four Helen Hayes Awards, five Outer Critics Circle Awards and three Drama Desk Awards, including Best Musical.
The live capture of the record-breaking Broadway run is currently playing to over 100 countries on Apple TV+. Throughout, Sankoff and Hein have encouraged casts and crews to pay-it-forward through packing food for foodbanks, delivering supplies to schools and countless acts of kindness towards strangers.
Photo by Matthew Murphy