The grads behind the show that’s got Toronto’s theatre scene abuzz

Alumni husband-and-wife team David Hein (BFA  ‘97) and Irene Carl Sankoff (BA  ‘99) were catapulted to centre stage when Mirvish Productions snapped up their 2009 Fringe Festival hit, My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding. The show opens Nov. 7 and York grads get discounted tickets through Perks.

We tracked down Hein and Carl Sankoff to find out the story behind their incredible success. Here’s what they told us.

Their inspiration
It all started with the titular song that Hein, an award-winning singer/songwriter, wrote two years ago as a present for his mother after her real-life wedding. He started performing the song, which challenges homophobic beliefs and is a rallying cry for gay marriage equality south of the border, as part of his act and his audiences loved it.

Lisa Horner and David Hein, photo credit: Lindsay Anne Black

Encouraged by their reaction, Hein and Carl Sankoff began turning the song into a full-blown musical. They set out to tell their favourite stories and answer the usual questions people ask them, like how David’s mother came out to him, what it’s like to have two moms and how they incorporated seven parents into their wedding.

The songs in the musical offer a glimpse into the emotional terrain of the show. They range from tender to hilarious (“Don’t Take Your Lesbian Moms to Hooters”) and educational (“A Short History of Gay Marriage in Canada”).

On stage
The show’s debut took place in a tiny Kensington market theatre as part of this summer’s Toronto Fringe Festival. It sold out and garnered four-star reviews in both Eye and NOW. Shortly after, they were approached by Mirvish Productions, Canada’s largest theatre company, to take the show to the big stage. “When members of my staff saw the very first performances of this hilarious and touching musical, they reported back to me with such enthusiasm that I even took my out-of-town guests to a performance. At the performance we attended the crowd went wild, and they had good reason to do so,” said David Mirvish. This is a rare move for Mirvish, which has only ever snapped up two other Fringe shows, The Drowsy Chaperone and Da Kink in My Hair (written by our own Annmarie Morais (BFA ’95)).

The show has now been expanded and reworked to include new songs, more characters, a larger cast and a bigger band. And both Hein and Carl Sankoff perform in the show, Hein playing himself and also narrating, and Carl Sankoff as David’s mother’s landlord.

York roots
Hein and Carl Sankoff met as students at a frosh week barbecue at Winters College at York. Both graduated cum laude in their respective programs. Carl Sankoff earned an Honours BA with a double major in psychology and creative writing. She was the first person to win both the Dr. Emily Stowe Humanitarian Award for her contribution to residence life and the Dr. Wendell MacLeod Award for the highest grade point average in her graduating class. Hein received his BFA in theatre, specializing in set and lighting design. He has since designed over 50 productions in Toronto and New York City in addition to his successful career as a musician.

My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding is not the first collaborative work of this creative couple. Their previous Toronto Fringe Festival show, Moving at the Speed of Life, was remounted last month at the Vaughan City Playhouse. Given the early success of their latest joint project, the personal and professional partnership of Hein and Carl Sankoff seems a winning combination.

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