Tim Hortons to stage theatrical production loosely based around 2010 Sarnia, Ont., snowstorm
In the last year, Tim Hor‐ tons has treated cottaging Canadians to a boat drive thru, revived its beloved Dutchie doughnut and launched flatbread pizzas.
But perhaps its biggest surprise will come this sum‐ mer, on the heels of its 60th anniversary on May 17, when it enters a realm so unex‐ pected for a fast-food giant that even its executives ex‐ pect some people's first reac‐ tions to be, "What?!"
The head-scratcher will come in the form of The Last Timbit, a musical for which Tim Hortons has assembled a who's who of Canadian artists to stage at the Elgin
Theatre in Toronto this June.
The production is loosely based on a 2010 snowstorm that was so bad, drivers on a highway east of Sarnia, Ont,. were forced to hunker down in cars and others had to wait out the inclement weather at a local Tim Hor‐ tons.
Turning the story into a theatrical production was the brainchild of Gut, a market‐ ing firm Tims hired to help it conjure up a way to celebrate its milestone year.
Among their first calls was Michael Rubinoff, a Toronto lawyer and theatre producer who turned the story of pas‐ sengers on planes diverted to Gander, Nfld. after the 9/11 attacks in New York into the hit musical
Away.
"The Tims logo is on one of the backdrops in The Book of Mormon that people don't realize and of course, in the musical I'm involved in, Come From Away, Tims plays a real‐ ly important part," Rubinoff said.
Come From
Alongside Rubinoff, other talent started flowing in. Nick Green, the playwright behind Casey and Diana, wrote the script and Anika and Britta Johnson of Life After created the music and lyrics, which include a song called What would you do for a Timbit?
The cast features Strat‐ ford and Shaw festival regu‐ lars Andrew Broderick and DeAnn deGruijter, as well as Broadway stars Kimberly-Ann Truong, Jake Epstein and Chilina Kennedy.
Most were surprised Tims, which is spending the year focused on expanding its af‐ ternoon and evening sales, was behind the play.
Once they saw the calibre of theatrical talent on board, they realized "this is going to be something that they're ex‐ cited to attach themselves to," Rubinoff said.
The production comes as arts organizations have struggled to retain corporate funding. Last summer, Bell
stopped funding the Toronto International Film Festival af‐ ter 28 years of sponsorship.
In March, the Bank of No‐ va Scotia ditched its title sponsorship of the Contact Photography Festival in Toronto.
Hot Docs, Canada's largest documentary film fes‐ tival, has also warned its fu‐ ture is in jeopardy.
Such struggles have not been lost on Rubinoff, who called The Last Timbit a "ma‐ jor investment."
"We only get better and we only strengthen those skills when we have the op‐ portunities to actually do the thing, and this is the oppor‐ tunity to do the thing," he said.
He's approaching the project with the same seri‐ ousness as he does any oth‐ er theatrical production. There's been months of per‐ fecting the script and table reads and soon, rehearsals will begin.
The music has already be‐ come an earworm.
"These songs have been on loop. I am telling you I can't sleep without hearing the songs," he said. "I wake up hearing the song, so I know that it's a great sign."
While he doesn't want to give away too many hints about the tunes or the play's plot, he said at the core of the storyline is a mother and daughter impacted by the storm. (The last Timbit they will vie for is a birthday one.)
And though the play is meant to mix humour and heart, he said, "nobody will dress up and dance like a Timbit, but I don't want to say no to anything."
That includes touring with the production, which will premiere in front of Tims franchisees visiting Toronto and then continue with five shows for the public. Tickets go on sale Friday.