__NOTOC__ Irene Sankoff is a Canadian librettist and composer–lyricist, best known for co-writing the Broadway

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

'' Come from Away'' with her writing partner and husband, David Hein.

Biography

Sankoff was born in

North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...

, Ontario, and double-majored in psychology and creative writing at York University, where she met Hein. After graduating, the couple moved to New York City in 1999 where he worked at a music studio and she studied at the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded ...

and performed in theatres. They were in New York City during the September 11 attacks. After spending several years studying and working in New York the couple returned to Toronto where Hein wrote a song, "My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding", about his mother and her later life partner. Sankoff and Hein expanded the song into a play that became a hit at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2009 and then picked up by

Mirvish Productions Mirvish Productions is a Canadian based theatrical production company and promoter. The company was founded in 1987 by David Mirvish, son of Toronto retailing icon and owner of the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Ed Mirvish. The first assets acqui ...

for a run at Toronto's

Panasonic Theatre The CAA Theatre, formerly the Panasonic Theatre, is a theatre located at 651 Yonge Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Mirvish Productions. On December 1, 2017, Mirvish Productions announced a marketing partnership with CAA South ...

before touring Canada. As a result of ''My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding'' success, theatre producer Michael Rubinoff approached Hein and Sankoff with his idea about a show based on Operation Yellow Ribbon in which residents of Gander, Newfoundland, housed 7,000 airline passengers who had been stranded at

Gander Airport Gander International Airport is located in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and is operated by the Gander International Airport Authority. Canadian Forces Base Gander shares the airfield but is a separate entity from the airport. The ...

as a result of the grounding of all North American air flights following the September 11 attacks. The couple visited Gander in 2011 during the 10-year reunion of passengers and locals, and subsequently wrote ''Come from Away'' based on the stories they learned there."From Gander to Broadway"
. ''Toronto Star'', November 13, 2016, Page E2. Tony Wong.

Awards

Sankoff and Hein won two Drama Desk awards, one for Outstanding Musical and one for Outstanding Book of a Musical, for ''Come from Away'' in 2017. That same year, they were nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics. They were also nominated for the 2017 Tony Awards Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. ''Come From Away'' also won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Music at the 2019

Laurence Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sankoff, Irene Living people 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Actors Studio alumni Canadian songwriters York University alumni Musicians from Toronto People from North York Drama Desk Award winners Canadian musical theatre librettists Canadian musical theatre composers Women musical theatre composers Canadian musical theatre lyricists Women songwriters 21st-century Canadian women musicians Canadian women composers 21st-century Canadian composers Year of birth missing (living people)