It was three hours before dawn, and felt like -19C, when people started lining up Sunday outside the Royal Alexandra Theatre.

By the time the singing started, some had been huddled on the King St. W. sidewalk for four or five hours.

“We’re just a bit crazy,” said one.

These freezing fans came with sleeping bags and camping chairs in hopes of landing the last few tickets to Come From Away, a musical based on the true story of more than 6,500 air travellers rerouted to Gander, Nfld. after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

The hit show is headed to Broadway in February, and Sunday’s matinee performance was the last in Toronto.

With 16 tickets guaranteed up for grabs, and close to 20 fans in line for the box office to open, some were bound to go home empty-handed.

But all of them would get to hear some songs from the show, performed live just inches away from their spot in line.

Led by the show’s husband-and-wife writing team David Hein and Irene Sankoff, members of Come From Away’s cast turned up at 10 a.m., with coffee and doughnuts, to serenade the rush line.

“I can’t believe people are lining up to see our show, and in this weather,” said Hein. “It’s just amazing. And they were all happy.”

Sankoff called the experience surreal.

“I remember waiting out there for Rent,” she said. “I never would have dreamed it would be my show.”

The group sang a pair of original songs from Come From Away, and the maritime folk song “Heave Away,” as those in line clapped gloved hands and stomped booted feet.

“It’s amazing,” said one fan. “My hands are shaking and I can’t tell if it’s from the excitement or the cold.”

Hein, playing along on guitar, said he could barely move his fingers, but loved seeing the fans come together.

“They were talking about how everyone saves each other’s spaces in line and brings each other beef jerky and drinks and creates this community,” he said.

Hein, who was celebrating his birthday, and Sankoff handed out Tim Hortons gift cards to people in the line, asking them to “pay it forward.”

These acts of giving parallel the story told by Come From Away, of Gander residents welcoming outsiders with open arms.

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“It’s a Canadian story and it’s a celebration of the people in Newfoundland and us as Canadians and helping people,” Hein said.

“Going down the Broadway and being able to share that, is an honour. And it’s wonderful in today’s climate to be able to tell this story.”

When the box office finally opened, Shane Feldman was first in line. He had been waiting since 5 a.m. Sunday and it will be the seventh time he has seen Come From Away, he said, including one performance in Gander.

“It’s so authentic,” Feldman said of the show. “David and Irene are brilliant in the way that they are able to share and amalgamate the stories. Having met many of the people that inspired the people in Gander (I think) they do a near flawless job.”