By Canadian Press

‘We got 1 winner and that’s wonderful’: Gander celebrates ‘Come From Away’ Tony win

Jun 11, 2017 | 5:15 AM

GANDER, N.L. — The unassuming Royal Canadian Legion Branch 8 in Gander, N.L., an aging one-storey building with pale yellow siding on the edge of town, hosted a sold-out Tony Awards viewing party Sunday night.

The come-as-you-are event, with chips, cheesies and a casual dress code, wasn’t your typical star-studded, red-carpet bash.

But neither is Gander a typical town. It opened its doors with heartwarming hospitality to nearly 7,000 stranded passengers and crew after 38 planes were diverted here on Sept. 11, 2001.

That story forms the plot for “Come From Away,” the foot-tapping, tear-jerking Broadway musical that has enchanted audiences and earned seven Tony nominations including a nod for best musical.

In the end, the show didn’t win the big prize and took home just one award, for best director of a musical.

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But one win was enough to please the people of Gander.

“We were happy just to be nominated,” said Beulah Cooper, a Gander resident and volunteer who was portrayed in the play.

“We got one winner and that’s wonderful.”

The legion quickly sold all 185 tickets to the viewing party. The $5 cover charge, which included door prizes and a glass of wine donated by a New Yorker to share in a toast, will go toward the legion’s building fund to replace shingles on the leaking roof and install a new heating system.

With two 65-inch television screens borrowed from the local furniture store, there were no bad seats in the house.

The crowd burst into applause when Christopher Ashley won “Come From Away”‘s lone award.

In his acceptance speech, Ashley paid tribute to the people of Newfoundland. 

“The people who extended their hearts and their homes and were generous and kind at the very worst moments, to all of you, thank you,” Ashley said.

Some in attendance for the viewing party said getting together for the event brought the tragic day — and the aftermath that followed — full circle.

“I didn’t have a big lot to do with it,” said Cathy Pittman, modestly.

“I watched the planes coming in. I knew people would need food. So I made turkey soup and muffins.”

Patsy Vey welcomed strangers into her home after the planes landed. An elderly woman with a heart condition was one of them.

“I don’t know why,” Vey said when asked why she opened her door.

“I guess my maternal instinct kicked in because I saw people who needed help.”

Her husband, Gary Vey, was the manager of the Gander International Airport, once a critical refuelling stop for transatlantic jets and — as 9/11 demonstrated — still an important emergency landing site for aircraft.

He was away at a convention but drove home when he heard the news.

“It was funny because he came in and said, ‘Who’s that in the spare room?’” Vey said laughing.

Some 10,000 people call Gander home, a little more if you include the outskirts of town. The Plane People — as legion president Carl Waterman affectionately calls the airplane passengers stranded in Gander after U.S. airspace shut down — nearly doubled the town’s population.

Waterman remembers bringing some of the stranded travellers to his house to shower.

“They couldn’t believe I’d let some strangers stay in our house alone,” he said. “They said that would never happen in New York. But in Gander, everyone knows everyone.”

Bonnie Belec, The Canadian Press