Hit musical Come From Away will play Yellowknife in 2027. Ptarmigan Ptheatrics and director Phoenix Smith began the audition process last week.
Come From Away is based on what happened in Gander, Newfoundland, when 38 flights and around 7,000 passengers were hastily redirected there in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks – temporarily almost doubling the community’s size.
“The people of Gander opened up their doors, their homes, their community centres, their legions, and brought all of those people into their home – the ‘plane people’ – for about five days,” said Smith.
“The musical is sometimes described as the 9/12 story rather than a 9/11 story, because it’s more about the relationships and the way these people were welcomed and included in the lives of the Gander residents over the next five days before they all left.”
Come From Away opened on Broadway in 2017 to acclaim and has since been performed worldwide.
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This will be Smith’s first time directing a Ptarmigan Ptheatrics musical. She said she pitched Come From Away because its themes felt “really relevant right now” in the NWT.
“The boundaries between ‘us’ and ‘them’ becoming deliberately blurred, that’s a really important part of the story. It feels important right now in our community, but also in a wider, global context,” she said.
“It’s a story about Newfoundland, but it’s also a story that’s familiar to Yellowknife people. It’s one about community, connection and hope, and Yellowknife knows what it means to need somebody to open their door to them, like with all of the evacuations.”
The show will be a challenge to direct. Twelve actors take on more than 70 roles each night, switching outfits and accents on the fly.
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If you like the sound of that, submissions are now being received ahead of auditions in November with a view to rehearsals beginning in January 2027.
“We want everyone. We want people who can sing, who can dance, who can act. But ultimately, we want to see new faces. We want to involve new communities,” said Smith.
And yes, a Newfoundland accent would be an advantage. (Yellowknife has a sizeable expat East Coast population.)
“A lot of roles have that Newfie accent,” said Smith. “It’s a big show with big personalities and big responsibilities to tell these stories accurately, and with care and thoughtfulness. So we need all sorts of people.”
The leads will rehearse four times a week, with supporting roles in rehearsal twice a week. There’s also an expectation that you put in other hours behind the scenes, such as working at home on dialects.
A dialect coach is part of the crew. “We can get your Newfie accent up to par,” Smith promised.
The show will run at Yellowknife’s Northern Arts and Cultural Centre for eight days in late April and early May 2027.
“I can’t wait for Yellowknife to participate in the show, help out behind the scenes, or just come and watch,” Smith said.
