When the “Christmas in Cape Breton” cast performed Monday night at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax, they looked out into the crowd and saw a familiar face looking back.
“The first act we were in, I found out she was in the audience,” said cast member Jordan Musycsyn on Wednesday.
“And I was like, I’m not going to look for her, because I know how nervous it would make me be, to be singing a tune and look out and see Anne Murray staring back, you know.”
Musycsyn had never met the iconic singer before.
He said he and the rest of the cast were given advance notice that Nova Scotia’s “Snowbird” might be in attendance that night, but what he didn’t expect was a lengthy hangout after the show.
“She came back with her daughter Dawn (Langstroth) and was just the kindest person,” Musycsyn said. “She was chatting with us for close to an hour backstage.”
“When you’re in this business for a long, long time, you do meet people,” added fellow cast member and Cape Breton comedian Bette MacDonald. “You meet famous people over the years, but we all agreed that this was next level.”
Despite working in the entertainment industry for many decades, it was also MacDonald’s first time meeting Murray in person.
The two quickly found a way to connect.
“(Murray is) a huge fan of Bette MacDonald’s comedy,” Musycsyn said. “She’s a big comedy fan. So, she was quoting Bette’s old show.”
If you ask MacDonald, the feeling goes both ways.
“Listen, I’ll tell you something. Anne Murray has a dynamite sense of humour,” the well-known comedian said.
Of course, 2025 has been a big year for Anne Murray.
In March, she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Juno Awards and the Grand Ole Opry held a major tribute in her honour in October.
She celebrated her 80th birthday in June.
To top it all off, she released new music — her 33rd studio album — “Here You Are” in September.
“Truly, it is Anne Murray season,” Musycsyn said.
Musyscyn added it was extra special to meet the music legend just before the holidays, and he didn’t leave Monday night’s meeting without a gift.
“I had an Anne Murray Christmas record, just a classic, and I brought it thinking that I was going to ask her to sign it, and she did,” he said.
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