The Cast of Tell Tale Harbour | Photo by Wade Muir
This is, I guess, a crowd pleaser.
My cynical suspicion is that Tell Tale Harbour, presented by Mirvish and the Confederation Centre of the Arts, has been reverse engineered to be the next Come from Away. It’s got all those proud Eastern Canada vibes. A story featuring an outsider falling for the charms of eccentric locals. Michael Gianfrancesco’s set features modular panels of weathered blue-grey slats which seem to strategically echo elements of that show’s scenic design. Robin Calvert’s choreography has that folksy Maritime stomping too. While there are certainly some unique aspects here, this never feels as genuine, understated nor authentic as that beloved piece of Canadiana.
Written by Adam Brazier, Edward Riche, Bob Foster and Alan Doyle (of Great Big Sea), this is based on a film, The Grand Seduction, penned by Ken Scott. I haven’t seen the film, but judging from the trailer, there are plenty of similarities (though the film looks to be significantly more grounded). After a local fish plant is shut down, this coastal community is desperate to secure a deal to implement a fancy new frozen french fry factory. They just need a dedicated, local physician. When a visiting doctor appears for a short-term contract, they pull out all the stops to convince him to stay. And, of course, have him fall in love with someone and, ultimately, the simple, small town life.
From asking the local shopkeeper, Kathleen (Melissa Mackenzie) to put out for him to pretending they all love cricket—Dr. Chris (Kale Penny) is British, y’see—much of the humour lies in increasingly escalating lies and farcical shenanigans. Some are very endearing, like the Mission Impossible style operation to fake his catching of a fish, but some are a little too cartoonish, a dozen people switching costumes and running across town in a ruse to convince an inspector that there are about three thousand people in town. When they welcome Dr. Chris, where did all their Victorian English costumes come from? All this goofiness would be fine if the story chose that lane, but it also wants to be a grounded tribute to Atlantic Canada.
There are a few things I genuinely appreciated. I enjoyed Laurie Murdoch as Yvon and found his fake funeral pretty funny. Gianfrancesco’s miniature homes lining the stage are very cute and create a genuine ambiance, especially under the massive projected moon that constantly hangs over events. I dig Susan Henley’s Vera, with her tight jeans and refusal to let age cramp her style. I’m also taken with Mackenzie’s Kathleen. I’m not particularly interested in her budding romance with the doctor; she’s refreshing to me as her own entity here. You can tell she loves all these people, but she’ll take none of their foolishness.
And she has the best song, by far, one of the few I didn’t find cloying. And , for me, it has distinctly meta appeal, speaking to my issues with the musical itself, while also showcasing her irritation with the town’s epic deception. “Real and True” is her lament to a routine and community attitude she’s grown disillusioned with. “I don’t want your song and dance. I’m done with plays and masquerades, I want something real and true.” Me too, Kathleen.
Frank, our main character, played by Doyle—well, he “has a song for you.” It’s his enthusiastic yet entirely stubborn scheming that creates all the drama and escalating trickery to get Dr. Chris to stay and thus save the town. Doyle has an undeniable charisma, but I don’t find Frank a particularly compelling character. His dynamic with wife Barbara (Alison Woolridge) is one of the shows stronger elements. Originally not invested in his french fry factory dream, she seems to abandon him, only to have some clever, sensible scheming up her own sleeve. Frank bonds with Dr. Chris over their shared fatherly abandonment issues. His ode to the land in “My Family” is just far too saccharine for my taste. “These hills they are my father, my mother is the sky, my sisters are the meadows, my brothers on the tides.”
I’m sure this show will tickle many funny bones and set some hearts aflutter. And I get it. I recognize what’s it’s offering: reasonably slick and boisterous Canuck schmaltz. I don’t want to dismiss its charms for those who can and want to fall for them, but it just feels very cheap beside the authenticity of the juggernaut to which it can’t help but draw comparison. And no single bit of writing about finding family in the land comes close to the goosebump-inducing perfection of “You are here, at the start of a moment, on the edge of the world. Where the river meets the sea.”
It’s taking us to the same kind of place, celebrating the same salt of the earth people, but has dressed them up in clown shoes and clichés. One dispelled my cynicism, the other has exacerbated it.
Tell Tale Harbour
September 23 to November 2, 2025
Royal Alexandra Theatre
(260 King St West)
2 hours, 10 minutes (including intermission)
Melissa Mackenzie and Kale Penny in Tell Tale Harbour | Photo by Wade Muir