NEW YORK—A political power-crowd including U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, cabinet members and scores of foreign countries’ ambassadors to the United Nations attended a Broadway play about Canada’s assistance to Americans after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The crowd delivered a standing ovation as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced the play with a short speech — he began with some jokes about the unusually wintry New York weather and concluded with a more serious point about neighbourly relations. 
 
 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the audience before the start of the Broadway musical "Come From Away" in New York City on Wednesday. ( Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS ) 
 
 Trudeau got some laughs when he told the audience: “Thank you for making us feel so welcome with the snow. It’s a nice touch. You really went out of your way.” There were cheers later when Trudeau referred to the Canada-U.S. bond: “There is no relationship quite like the friendship between Canada and the United States . . . Our friends are there for those tough times . . .” Trump, the president’s daughter and a close adviser, sat in Row F between Trudeau and Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and directly behind Jean Chrétien, the former prime minister, and his wife, Aline, the New York Times reported. 
 
 Article Continued Below 
 
 Created by husband-and-wife team Irene Sankoff and David Hein, Come From Away is set in the remote East Coast town in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The town saw its population double in size after local residents sheltered 6,579 passengers and crew from 38 planes diverted when U.S. air space was closed following the tragedy. Come From Away had its official Broadway opening on Sunday, which was followed by widespread critical raves from publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post and Chicago Tribune. The play offers the proverbial emotional roller-coaster that swings from tear-jerking moments to knee-slapping jokes from Newfoundland residents overwhelmed with the task of handling an influx of visitors. One recurring subplot involves prejudice against Muslims. An Egyptian man is continually sidelined by frightened characters, rebuffed from helping with the cooking before he can explain he’s a world-class chef. Guests were arriving at the theatre amid breaking political news that a U.S. court ordered a halt on the president’s latest executive action freezing refugee processing and limiting travel from a handful of majority-Muslim countries. The president slammed the ruling as unprecedented judicial overreach. 
 
 Around that time, the theatre was filling up. The prime minister arrived at the midtown Manhattan venue in the same motorcade as Ivanka Trump. They rolled up to the theatre in separate vehicles, and quickly entered the building where they chatted with other guests. 
 
 Ivanka Trump greets patrons as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, left, looks on before the start of the play on Wednesday. ( Ryan Remiorz ) 
 
 It was their second event together in a month. Trudeau had a roundtable meeting with Ivanka at the White House when they created a women’s business group — one the president has since saluted by referencing in different high-profile settings, including his address to Congress. 
 
 Article Continued Below 
 
 Read more: ‘Come From Away’ greeted with rave reviews as Tony buzz begins ‘Come From Away’ has a hopeful message that strikes a chord in New York In ‘Come From Away,’ a small town’s legacy soars The president’s daughter chatted with people who came up to her seat in the middle of the hall to get their picture taken. She also exchanged words with Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and her father’s ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley. There were up to 150 other UN ambassadors in the crowd — people Canada will spend the next few years lobbying in its effort for a temporary seat on the security council. There were also diplomats and politicians who were involved in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. As he walked in, former prime minister Jean Chretien shared some memories about the tragic events that inspired the story being told on stage. Chretien says he and the minister of transportation were made aware of residents of Gander, N.L., taking in thousands of passengers when U.S. air space was closed following the tragedy. 
 
 Former prime minister Jean Chretien shared some memories before the play. “It was quite a day," he said. ( SAM HODGSON ) 
 
 He also recalled speaking with then-president George W. Bush about Canada’s role in assisting its crisis-stricken neighbour. “We were involved in many things,” Chretien said as he walked in. “It was quite a day.” Prior to its arrival on the Great White Way, the homegrown production had earned strong reviews as it criss-crossed the continent with shows in La Jolla, Calif., Washington, D.C., Seattle and Toronto. Trudeau previously announced on Twitter that he planned to attend the show with his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, and that he was “looking forward to showing New Yorkers Canada at its best.” 
 
 Read more about: ||||| Ivanka Trump had Justin Trudeau on her arm at a Broadway show about embracing strangers. 
 
 The First Daughter took in “Come From Away” with the Canadian prime minister Wednesday night, according to the New York Times. 
 
 Trudeau had previously announced that he'd be in attendance with his wife. 
 
 Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, was also with the group. 
 
 New besties Trudeau and Trump have more in common than you think 
 
 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ivanka Trump, shown here in February, were spotted together at the Broadway show “Come From Away” Wednesday night. (Evan Vucci/AP) 
 
 “Come From Away,” with book, music and lyrics by Canadian husband-and-wife team Irene Sankoff and David Hein, begins on Sept. 11, 2001, and tells the true story of a group of 6,579 people on 38 planes forced to land unexpectedly in Gander, Newfoundland and how the local residents embrace their new neighbors. 
 
 The musical had successful runs in Ontario, San Diego, Seattle and Washington, D.C., before opening on Broadway on March 12 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. 
 
 “Come From Away,” directed by Tony nominee Christopher Ashley, stars Petrina Bromley, Geno Carr, Jenn Colella, Joel Hatch, Rodney Hicks, Kendra Kassebaum, Chad Kimball, Lee MacDougall, Caesar Samayoa, Q. Smith, Astrid Van Wieren and Sharon Wheatley. 
 
 “Come From Away” begins a week after the Sept. 11 attacks and tells the true story of a group of 6,579 people on 38 planes forced to land unexpectedly in Gander, Newfoundland and how the local residents embrace their new neighbors. (Broadway.com) 
 
 Trudeau spoke to the audience before the show Wednesday night and thanked the cast, who “worked to pull together such an extraordinary crowd to celebrate this story of friendship during extraordinarily difficult times between individuals between countries.” 
 
 Trump takes softball questions at talk with Canadian leader 
 
 The Prime Minister also spoke about “the close relationship between the United States and Canada.” 
 
 “The world gets to see what it is to lean on each other and be there for each other,” he said. 
 
 The unlikely friendships within the Trump family 
 
 Trudeau and Trump had previously met during a roundtable discussion about women in the workforce in February. 
 
 Press reps for the show told the Daily News that the Canadian Consulates had arranged a block of tickets, but that they were unaware of the guest list. 
 
 Sign up for BREAKING NEWS Emails privacy policy Thanks for subscribing! ||||| Ivanka Trump has joined Justin Trudeau in attending a Broadway show that celebrates giving foreigners a warm welcome. 
 
 The president's daughter and the Canadian prime minister, who sat next to each other during the play, were part of a political power-crowd at the new musical “Come From Away” on Wednesday night. 
 
 Celebrating Canadian compassion following 9/11, the story is set in the small Newfoundland town of Gander, which saw its population double after it took in thousands of passengers and crew from dozens of planes diverted when US air space was closed following the terror attacks. One recurring theme involves prejudice against Muslims.
– While President Trump was defending his travel ban in Nashville, Tenn., his daughter Ivanka joined Canada's prime minister for a Broadway show with a message of tolerance. Ivanka Trump and Justin Trudeau attended Come From Away, a musical about how the residents of Gander, Newfoundland, welcomed more than 6,000 people stranded in the small town when planes were diverted there after the 9/11 attacks, when US airspace was closed, the New York Daily News reports. The show opened in New York Sunday to rave reviews after runs in cities including Seattle and Washington, DC. Ivanka and Trudeau arrived in the same motorcade and sat next to each other during the play, the Telegraph reports. US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was also in the crowd, as were up to 150 other UN ambassadors, reports the Toronto Star, which notes that the musical has a recurring subplot about anti-Muslim prejudice. Trudeau received a standing ovation for his speech introducing the play. He thanked the cast for working "to pull together such an extraordinary crowd to celebrate this story of friendship during extraordinarily difficult times between individuals between countries" and spoke about the close relationship betweeen the US and Canada. "The world gets to see what it is to lean on each other and be there for each other," he said. (Trudeau says Canada will welcome refugees of all faiths.)