They Came From Away came 1st. Then came the Broadway hit

When TrevorMcKinvenfirst performedThey Came from Awayat The Piggery in NorthHatley, Que.,in August 2010, he couldn't possibly have known a play based on the same themewas in the works elsewhere in the country.

Yetjust four months earlier, the husband-and-wife theatrical team,DavidHeinand IreneSankoff, met producer MichaelRubinoffin Toronto.

Rubinoffwanted them to write a play about planes being diverted to Gander, NL, following the 9/11 attacks in New York.

Those are the same events which, in 2005, inspiredMcKinvento write the monologues that would become his one-man play.

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HeinandSankoffwould eventually writeCome from Away, the incredibly popular musical that's taking Broadway by storm, which isnominated for sevenTony Awards.

Striking similarities

The resemblance in the titles for both shows is striking.

But then again, "come from away" is a common colloquial expression throughout Atlantic Canada, designating anyone who wasn't born in the region.

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The premise for both plays is roughly the same.

They both recount the few days after 9/11, when thousands of people from all over the world were stranded in Gander, after their planes were rerouted to theNewfoundland town following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Differences in approach

Heinand Sankoff's version,Come from Away, is a musical depicting the real stories of some of the people of Gander and their impromptu guests. The pair travelled to Gander in 2011for the 10-year commemoration ceremony ofto research their stories.

With a grant from the Canada Arts Council, they were able to spend a month in the small town, meeting the people who would become characters in their play.

"They literally gave us the keys to their houses," saidHein. "They'd say, 'Just lock the door, because someone might drop in for tea.'"

"We didn't do that, and then someone dropped in for tea the next morning. There was a stranger sitting there, and he said, 'Oh, I heard you were in town and, I thought I'd give you a tour around.'"

McKinven'sThey Came from Awayis a one-man show, and he took adifferent approach. His fictional monologues are inspired by locals and people who would've been stuck in Gander, as seen through the playwright's eyes.

"I didn't read a whole lot about it, I just heard it in the ethers, and I thought, 'Boy, to be a fly on the wall in Gander, Newfoundland during that week following 9/11,'" saidMcKinven.

Local controversy

By the timeCome from Awaywas complete, McKinven'sThey Came from Awayhad been performed several times in small venues throughout Quebec, Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

Looking for new venues for his play,McKinvenalso called many theatres in Toronto in 2010, including Theatre Sheridan, whereRubinoffis producer and associate dean of visual and performing arts.

Back in the Eastern Townships, some who had seenThey Came from Awayhad misconceptions about the relationships between the two plays.

Some people thoughtMcKinvensoldHeinandSankoffthe rights to his play; others though his work hadbeenplagiarized.

And things got worse afterHeinand Sankoff'sCome from Awayhit the big time.

"I just think credit should be given where credit is due,"one woman posted on Facebook.

A truecoincidence

CBC News asked both producerRubinoffand playwrightHeinif it is possibleCome from Awaycould've been inspired by McKinven's play.

Heinsaid he and his wife metRubinoffto discuss the idea for the musical in April 2010, four monthsbeforeMcKinven's one-man show premiered in NorthHatley.

That meeting was reported in news articles to have taken place variously as early as 2009 or as late as 2011.

However, the articles all said the meeting took place afterRubinoffsawHeinand Sankoff's previous hit musical,My Mother's Lesbian JewishWiccanWedding.

"It was near the end of the run which I think was April [2010] when it closed," saidHein. "Michael came right near the end."

DavidHeinalso provided CBC News with dated screenshots of Facebook messages between himself andRubinoffcorroborating that timeline.

Audience still wonders

ForMcKinven, the success of the musicalCome from Awayhas changed how his own play is received by audiences and theatres.

McKinvenhad always done Q & A sessions after his show.

They used to be about the events in Gander. More often than not, they are now about the origins of the play and whether it was inspired by the vastly more popular production now playing on Broadway.

"I'm just going to have to get used to the fact that people are going to assume that mine is riffing off of this big, very successful show that just hit Broadway," saidMcKinven.

"I don't mind doing that. I've just found it very exhausting and draining, and it zaps you of that energy that you need to pull off a show like this, a one-man show."

"You're constantly wondering if the people in the seats or the organizers are constantly wondering which came first."

As forHeinandSankoff, they are thrilled to see the interest generated by the Gander story, and they hopeMcKinvenwill keep staginghis play.

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"We wish him all the best with it and hope to see it someday," saidHein.

"It would be fascinating to see the story told in such a different style, and we'd love it if there were a thousand shows celebrating the kindness of our friends out in Newfoundland."

Trevor McKinvenstages a new production of his one-man show They Came From Awayfor one night only,Wed., May 31, at 8 p.m. at the Piggery Theatre in North Hatley, Que.