Tell Tale Harbour

Tell Tale Harbour, an original Canadian musical starring Alan Doyle, is returning to The Charlottetown Festival next summer with a newly reworked production.

The musical, full of East Coast pride, made its world premiere at The 2022 Charlottetown Festival and completed a cross-province tour of Newfoundland and Labrador. Since then, it has been workshopped by its creative team in preparation for its 2025 return.

Once its summer run at The 2025 Charlottetown Festival concludes, Tell Tale Harbour will make its mainland debut in Toronto with co-producers David and Hannah Mirvish. 

“The Charlottetown Festival has a long history of producing new Canadian musicals, and an important part of that process is to revisit works to help them evolve so that they can be shared on stages across the country,” says Adam Brazier, the Centre’s artistic director of performing arts and one of the co-creators of Tell Tale Harbour. “The 2025 version of this musical is the same story audiences fell in love with, but the entire world has been reimagined with new characters, additional songs, more dancing, and fresh set and costume designs.” 

The musical is co-written by Alan Doyle, known for his solo material and as a member of the band Great Big Sea. Doyle starred in the 2022 production and will return in the lead role for the 2025 performances.

Tell Tale Harbour tells the story of a struggling Atlantic fishing village looking for a miracle when an opportunity arises to bring a state-of-the-art frozen french fry facility to town. There’s just one major obstacle: to secure the factory, the harbour must have a full-time resident doctor. Realizing this might be their last chance to save their beloved community, the townspeople come together to charm an interim doctor into moving there permanently. 

The musical comedy celebrates the people, the trials, and the triumphs of living in a small community in Atlantic Canada. The musical is based on the screenplay The Grand Seduction (2013) by Ken Scott and is co-created by Brazier, Doyle, Bob Foster, and Edward Riche. The 2025 production will be directed by Brian Hill, with choreography by Tracey Flye.

Tell Tale Harbour will run from June 14–August 29, 2025, at the Sobey Family Theatre. 

Playing alongside Tell Tale Harbour at The 2025 Charlottetown Festival is the popular jukebox musical Million Dollar Quartet. The show is set on December 4, 1956, when an extraordinary true-life twist of fate brought Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins together at Sun Records in Memphis. Their first and only time playing together would go down as one of the greatest jam sessions in the history of rock and roll. 

This smash-hit show brings that legendary night to life with an irresistible tale of broken promises, secrets, betrayal, and celebrations. The score features hit songs that defined an era, including “Blue Suede Shoes,” “I Walk the Line,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” and more. Million Dollar Quartet has been staged around the world, including at The 2017 Charlottetown Festival.  

Million Dollar Quartet will run from June 17–August 30, 2025, at the Sobey Family Theatre. 

Tickets for The 2025 Charlottetown Festival are on sale now at confederationcentre.com/festival25. 

The 2025 Charlottetown Festival will also feature shows at The Mack, to be announced at a later date.