When Doug Hansell and Emma Powell were first cast in Come From Away four years ago, they thought it would only be for one or two years.
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They thought they would step into the shoes of Kevin T and Beula Davis - their respective characters - and then move on to the next gig.
Not only did COVID change this plan - with the musical shutdown extending their time with the musical - but there was something about this remarkable true story that kept these actors coming back for more.
But as the curtain closes on Sunday, it will not only mean the end of the musical's Canberra season, but Come From Away's Australian run. Thus it will be the last time they and the rest of the cast will walk onto the stage as these characters. Then, the come from aways, will sadly, go away.
"I don't know if there will ever be another show like this to do in terms of the work itself, the style of the show too, theatrically," Powell says.
"It's quite amazing how it flips from a straight direct address to the audience to narrative within a scene and it's so great to have an audience be able to follow that.
"I've never played a show that has this message built into it the way this does from a real-life story."
Inspired by true events, Come From Away details how the small Canadian town of Gander, Newfoundland - home to 9000 people - almost doubled in size as a result of September 11. After the planes hit the Twin Towers, United States air space was shut, and 38 international flights filled with "come from aways" were diverted to Gander International Airport.
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While Come From Away had its Australian premiere in Melbourne in 2019, the rest of the country was delayed in seeing it due to COVID shutdowns. Canberra's season alone was postponed twice before finally opening last month.
Still, it was the longest season to ever take to the Canberra Theatre Centre stage and the production also became the highest-selling musical at the Canberra Theatre Centre within its first week of ticket sales.
For the cast members who stuck around during COVID, Come From Away was a lifeline. While other actors were forced out of work worldwide due to the pandemic, they were still working.
However, for various reasons, some of the Australian cast did not continue during the pandemic and therefore didn't get a chance to knowingly experience their final Come From Away performance on stage.
"Something that I've been thinking about a lot this week, is all our cast members who have gone, who didn't get that closure that we're going to have," Hansell says.
"Although it's going to be emotional, so many people got robbed of that, because shows shut down very suddenly, because of a COVID variant or something like that. Our original company, we lost half of them.
"We were performing on a Tuesday night and then Wednesday, we didn't go back and then they all just got shipped out on a plane because coming to the end of a contracts and borders were closing. So they've been in my thoughts this week and it kind of feels like we're doing this fit for them as well."
Come From Away is at Canberra Theatre until Sunday. Tickets from canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
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