‘The Last Timbit’: the Tim Hortons musical comes to Toronto

In the last year, Tim Hortons has invited cottage-owning Canadians to enjoy a drive-thru boat service, revived its beloved Dutch donut, and launched flatbread pizzas.

But perhaps its biggest surprise will come this summer, on the heels of its 60th anniversary on May 17, when it enters a realm so unexpected for a fast-food giant that even its executives expect some people’s first reactions to be: “ That?! “

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 performing at Toronto’s Elgin Theater this June.

The production is loosely based on a 2010 snowstorm that was so bad that drivers on a highway east of Sarnia, Ontario, were forced to take shelter in their cars and others had to wait out the inclement weather in a local Tim Hortons.

Turning the story into a stage production was the idea of ​​Gut, a marketing company Tims hired to help him create a way to celebrate his breakthrough year.

Tims was determined to give Gut as much room as possible to be creative, so he didn’t even specify that the company had to come up with an event. All the chain said was find “something with heart” and that reflected the relationship the fast-food restaurant has with its customers, recalled the chain’s marketing director, Hope Bagozzi.

When they proposed a play to her, even she was surprised.

“What the hell would we know about doing something like this… in a really highly professional way,” he said, was his reaction.

“Our agency, that is not their specialty. It is certainly not ours.”

Despite it being new territory and Tims having to look for talent outside his comfort zone, he was “cautiously optimistic” about the idea.

“It’s a little extravagant, but I’m sure it felt great (and) the kind of ambition we had,” he said.

So Bagozzi and his staff set out to make it a reality.

Among his first calls was Michael Rubinoff, a Toronto lawyer and theater producer who broke the story of passengers on planes diverted to Gander, Nfld. after the 9/11 attacks in New York in the hit musical “Come From Away.”

“We didn’t imagine he would actually join the project. We just thought we’d try to ask him, ‘Are we crazy? Should we do this? How would we do it?’” Bagozzi recalled.

Rubinoff was not fazed by the unlikely call. Although many would assume he was surprised to hear that a fast food brand wanted to jump into theater, he didn’t find it unusual because “Tims has been a part of Broadway for many years.”

“The Tims logo is on one of the backgrounds 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 really big role.” important”. Rubinoff said.

“After the opening number, the first line is ‘I start my day at Tim Hortons’ and we have a scene at Tim Hortons and we go back to it, so Tim Hortons in musical theater didn’t seem as outlandish to me as it might to others. people”.

In addition to Rubinoff, other talents began to arrive.

Nick Green, the playwright behind “Casey and Diana,” wrote the script and “Life After’s” Anika and Britta Johnson created the music and lyrics, including a song called “What Would You Do for a Timbit?”

The cast includes Stratford and Shaw festival regulars Andrew Broderick and DeAnn deGruijter, as well as Broadway stars Kimberly-Ann Truong, Jake Epstein and Chilina Kennedy.

Most were surprised that Tims, which spends the year focused on expanding its afternoon and evening sales, was behind the play. Once they saw the caliber of theater talent on board, they realized “this is going to be something they’ll be excited to join,” Rubinoff said.

The production comes at a time when arts organizations have struggled to retain corporate funding. Last summer, Bell stopped funding the Toronto International Film Festival after 28 years of sponsorship. In March, the Bank of Nova Scotia dropped its title sponsorship of the Contact Photography Festival in Toronto.

Hot Docs, Canada’s largest documentary film festival, also warned that its future is in danger.

These struggles have not gone unnoticed by Rubinoff, who called “The Last Timbit” a “great investment.”

“We only improve and strengthen those skills when we have the opportunity to do so, and this is the opportunity to do so,” he said.

He is approaching the project with the same seriousness as any other theater production. They’ve spent months perfecting the script and table reads and will soon begin rehearsals.

Music has already become a problem.

“These songs have been on loop. I tell you I can’t sleep without listening to them,” he said. “I wake up listening to the song, so I know it’s a great sign.”

While he doesn’t want to give too many clues about the play’s melodies or plot, he said that at the center of the story are a mother and daughter impacted by the storm. (The last Timbit they will compete for is a birthday one.)

And although the play aims to mix humor and heart, he said, “no one will dress up and dance like a Timbit, but I don’t want to say no to anything.”

That includes a tour 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.

Those who get seats will be able to purchase Tims-centric merchandise from Roots Corp., which also serves as the play’s costume partner, and will likely find a booth selling Tims favorites, including Timbits, Bagozzi said.

“Those aren’t going to dance away,” Rubinoff interjected. “You can enjoy them.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:QSR, TSX:ROOT)