14/10/2026
Three weeks before opening night, our theatre caught fire. 🔥
No one was hurt. But after a full year of rehearsals, planning and preparation, we suddenly had no stage.
We are musicalgroep The Cast, a community musical theatre group from Haarlem 🇳🇱 For the past year we’ve been preparing Come From Away: the true story of Gander, Newfoundland, where a small town welcomed thousands of stranded airline passengers after September 11, 2001.
A story about ordinary people choosing generosity in an extraordinary moment.
We never imagined we’d be living a small piece of it ourselves.
On September 30, fire damaged the Kennemer Theater. Cancelling would have been the easy choice. Instead, within three days, we found a new home: De Lichtfabriek in Haarlem ✨
So the show goes on. October 23 & 24.
But moving an entire musical into a new space at the last minute brings costs we never planned for. Sets and staging rebuilt for a new room. Lighting, sound and tech. Transport and logistics. A venue ready for our audience.
That’s why we’ve set a $25,000 goal. Without it, these costs come out of the reserves that make future community theatre possible.
“When we heard about the fire, it felt as though a year of work might disappear overnight. Finding a new venue gave us hope.” – Daphne Mulder, chairwoman of The Cast
To our friends in Canada 🇨🇦 Newfoundland’s hospitality inspired people far beyond your borders, including all of us in Haarlem.
To our friends in the United States 🇺🇸 we know this story is tied to one of the most painful days in your history. We hope to honor the humanity that followed.
Anything raised above our goal goes to the 9/11 Legacy Foundation.
We just finished our trailer 🎬 Watch it, feel it, and if you can, help us get there. $10, $25, $50 or any amount. Can’t donate? Share this with someone who loves this story. That means just as much.
The fire changed our plans. It doesn’t have to change our ending. 💛
🔗 Link in bio
From Haarlem, with gratitude and with inspiration from Newfoundland.
