Cast of Come From Away during a benefit performance at the Steele Community Center Arena in Gander, N.L., on Saturday, October 29, 2016. The sold-out musical that is attracting people from across North America to the small town of Gander has been forced to cancel performances this week because of illness among the cast and crew. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Paul Daly

GANDER, N.L. - A sold-out musical that is attracting people from across North America to the small town of Gander, N.L., has been forced to cancel performances this week because of illness among the cast and crew.

Michael Rubinoff, producer of "Come From Away," said the five performances scheduled this week through Sunday will not go ahead. The next performance of the show is set for Wednesday.

"I can't disclose specific information about people's health," Rubinoff said in an interview.

"But it is illness within cast and crew. And, unfortunately, that prevents us from running the show safely and with the numbers that are required to perform it."

The musical tells the story of Gander's efforts to care for thousands of people stranded after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States forced flights to divert there. The show was a smash on Broadway, running for a record-setting five years at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, in New York City.

Rubinoff said he is working to accommodate ticket holders who missed out, either by giving refunds or adding more performances. If performances are added, priority will be given to people who couldn’t see the show this week, he said.

“But for those from away — we know that we'll have to refund those tickets.”

The show opened last Friday in Gander and is scheduled to run until Sept. 3 with a cast of 16 actors. Rubinoff said the show has four understudies who can take up roles if the assigned actor can't perform that day. "It's quite a complex matrix to do so," he said.

"Unfortunately, being at the start of the run, and due to the nature of the illnesses and the numbers both in cast and crew, that wasn't an option for us this week."

Alick Tsui, a St. John's, N.L., resident, bought two tickets to Thursday's show for his wife's birthday. "We were really eager to watch," he said.

On the way to Gander on Wednesday, Tsui said he heard from friends on social media that the show had been cancelled. It took a few calls to confirm the news, he said.

The couple decided to cancel their hotel room in Gander, which they had booked weeks in advance and instead drove to Bonavista, Elliston and Trinity to take in the sights and sounds.

They are still hoping to watch the show, however.

"We hope they will have a matinee show," he said. "We can go during the daytime and come back (to St. John's) in the evening. We don't mind driving three-and-a-half hours one way, watch the show, go home in three-and-a-half hours. It all depends on what they will offer us."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2023.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2023