What to know
- Our Little Secret: A True New Musical runs at Mirvish’s CAA Theatre through Nov. 22.
- The one-man musical tells Noam Tomaschoff’s true story of learning at 31 that he was conceived using an anonymous sperm donor.
- A DNA test later revealed more than 35 known half-siblings around the world.
- The show began at the 2023 Toronto Fringe, where it sold out and won Patron’s Pick and Best of Fringe.
- Broadway actor Adam Pascal, best known for originating Roger in Rent, directs the current Toronto production.
Toronto’s Noam Tomaschoff, then an aspiring actor and singer, turned a potentially scarring revelation into a career-making artistic project that likely saved him — and his parents — years of therapy.
After learning that the man who raised him for 31 years was not his biological dad and a DNA test revealed he has “at least 35 half-siblings that we know of,” Tomaschoff created Our Little Secret: A True New Musical, which explores the true meaning of family and identity by using humour, self-reflection, unconditional love and connection.
Directed by Broadway legend Adam Pascal (Rent, Aida), the one-man show — on at Mirvish’s CAA Theatre (651 Yonge St.) until Nov. 22 — stars Tomaschoff and was co-created and produced by Russell Citron with composer Ryan Peters, both high school friends of his. It was Tomaschoff’s way of dealing with the unfathomable news in the best way he knew how. Tickets are available here.
Citron and Peters both came out onstage on opening night to welcome the audience, calling it “absolutely surreal” and “a big night for us” to be staging their musical at a Mirvish theatre after seeing Mirvish productions as kids, such as The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast.
The show first premiered at the 2023 Toronto Fringe Festival under the title Our Little Secret: The 23andMe Musical, and then went through developmental and regional summer runs in Tweed and Prince Edward County (PEC) in 2024. That year, it went on to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where Tomaschoff won the Chrisparkle Award for Best Performance.
In 2025, the musical was presented at Montreal’s Segal Centre for Performing Arts for an enhanced Mainstage production featuring a live band, becoming one of the theatre’s best-selling shows and winning five Broadway World Awards, including Best New Musical.
In Octoberche, the production travelled to Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre, where Pascal directed a new iteration of the show before its grand homecoming to Toronto.
Our Little Secret: A True New Musical describes his father, Gideon, as “a stubborn, eccentric, and caring” man who supported his son’s ambitions after watching him perform in a camp production of Mamma Mia! His parents were always his biggest fans.
But that image was shattered when Tomaschoff discovered that he had actually been conceived by an anonymous sperm donor. Having felt “lied to” for 31 years, he spiralled into an identity crisis, pondering “Who am I?” — which ultimately serves as the fundamental question at the core of the entire show.
Tomaschoff sings how he “pushed apart the panic” to process the shocking news. While his parents desperately didn’t want him to tell anyone about the discovery, Tomaschoff defiantly sings, “I told everyone at the wedding” he attended.
As revealed at the end of the show, Tomaschoff, who gets to show off his acting and singing chops as he plays all the characters, said, “They supported me in my decision to go to drama school. And they’ve come to all my performances. In fact, they are actually here tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like you to meet Gideon and Sylvie, my parents.” The audience cheered and whistled as they stood up.
Tomaschoff continued to sing out the conclusion of the story, including the lyric, “I’ve met 10 siblings, and I hope to meet more, but it will take some time because I’ve got bros by the score.” Photos on a screen showed him with just some of them.
“It’s better when nobody has to hide, to carry the darkness of shame inside. No longer alone, we take on what’s next as a family. It’s just better,” concluding: “I know you felt you had to keep a secret like you did, but I’m not mad; I’m proud to be your one tremendous kid. And those are their words, not mine. I never really understood, until I had to play you, mom and dad, the one thing left to say is thank you.”
