Come From Away - a Glorious Expression of Good Spirit

Today is the anniversary of 9/11.

Although the twin towers tumbled down in flames 18 years ago, Americans have not agreed on how to best commemorate this tragic day in history. 

Mid-Michigan audiences will be able to remember the event in a unique and wonderful way tonight.  They will be able to see the hit Broadway show “Come From Away” at Wharton Center (through Sunday, 9/15).  And they will learn that maybe a musical is the perfect way to tell the 9/11 story.

Everything about the show is real.  The amazing story, the music, and the emotion.

When the towers were attacked from the air, the FAA closed all American airspace for the first time in history.  Incoming aircraft from abroad had to land in other, non-US, airports. 

All of a sudden, the town of Gander, Newfoundland (pop. 7000), came to life. It is home to one of the largest airports in North America, built during the age of European bound planes refueling before jumping the pond.

On the morning of September 11^th, Gander suddenly played host to 38 planes which landed in their near- vacant airport, doubling the town’s population in a few hours.  And the Gander townspeople made it their business to take care of all the people who “came from away”.

To tell this powerful story of human caring and kindness “Come From Away” uses only 12 actors, each one playing several parts.  They change hats, coats, shirts, accents and physical mannerisms and totally become different people.

Each actor gets into his or her character with such commitment that we must try to remember what their previous character was. To tell the story, the actors talk to other characters, to themselves or to the audience, but the narrative is always impactful and effective.

We hear about a woman who is desperately trying to contact her firefighter son in New York, the Muslim who is often feared by everyone else, the gay couple who are afraid to reveal themselves to the Canadians.

But through all the personal anxieties of the flyers, the good people of Newfoundland welcome them with love, understanding and openness. It’s a true story for our age.

There are no glamorous Broadway stars here.  They look like real folk. The women are in slacks and jeans. Men are in flannels and baseball hats.

And they make up the full assortment of human variety of ages and body sizes. But don’t let that fool you. They may not look like the Rockettes, but they all dance and move with great energy and Newfoundland style 

The performers – a true ensemble cast – are all stunning. When they sing solos they are strong and in character, but when they sing as a chorus, which they do often, they blend together like the best church choir you’ve ever heard.

This brilliant show grabs the audience emotionally from the very outset. The stress and anxiety of the passengers who don’t know what’s going on, to the townspeople who are just trying their best to feed and house 7000 strangers – plus their animals. 

The fact that the actors play both the travelers and the locals

is a potent device of telling the story.  Towards the end of the show after a passenger is thanking a local profusely for what he did for them, the townie answers “You would have done the same”. But, in fact, the same actors were playing both parts and they WERE doing the same.

The music is raucous Cape Breton-style folk music, with the expert musicians on stage (and after the final curtain, there’s a mini concert).  The backdrop is open and evocative of natural wood and trees.  And the set itself is nothing more than a bunch of simple chairs and tables. 

But director Christopher Ashley (Tony winner for this play) somehow arranges his actors, along with those chairs and tables and other props into scenes which make us see: an airport, a restaurant, a plane, a bar, a bus, a car, a hockey ring and a highway.

This musical has no love ballads, no flashy tap numbers, and no high heels, but “Come From Away” touches a tender place in the hearts of all Americans in a way that makes it one of the most entertaining and deeply-felt plays I’ve ever seen. And on opening night, the audience responded with screams and howls, not just applause.