Turning regular theater into political theater isn’t just for Americans anymore. Canadian prime minister and all-around babe Justin Trudeau visited the Great White Way on Wednesday, taking in a showing of Broadway’s Come From Away. The musical is a Canadian production about a small town in the Great White North that took in a host of outsiders when planes were redirected to the area immediately after 9/11. Trudeau opened the night’s performance with a speech in which he reflected on the “friendship” between Canada and the U.S., and on how Come From Away embodies it (he thought, anyways — “I haven’t seen it yet … I’m really hoping it lives up to its extraordinary billing,” he said).
Trudeau’s speech, which argued that friendship isn’t so much about being there for the good times as for the bad, was delivered to an audience including Ivanka Trump. Per the New York Times, Trump was one of the 600 attendees brought to the show by the Canadian consulate general. She was seen with Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, and the U.S.’s UN ambassador, Nikki Haley. Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail also reports that Trudeau and Trump arrived in different vehicles of the same motorcade. Ivanka’s visit to the musical about cooperative efforts at international travel comes just as President Donald Trump’s second travel ban goes into effect.
Of Trudeau’s attendance at Come From Away, the prime minister’s press secretary told Vulture, “We of course support the success of a great Canadian cultural production, especially as it is in the spotlight of New York City and as we celebrate our country’s 150th birthday. Our countries share a deep cross-border relationship that extends far beyond our economic ties, and is made stronger by cultural connections and shared values. And we embrace the opportunity to highlight how we are there for each other in times of need.”
