Come from Away
Come from Away is a musical, with book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. It is based on the events in the Newfoundland town of Gander during the week following the September 11 attacks, when 38 planes, carrying approximately 7,000 passengers, were ordered to land unexpectedly at Gander International Airport. The characters in the musical are based on actual Gander residents and stranded travelers they housed and fed. Audiences and critics have received the musical as a cathartic reminder of the capacity for human kindness in even the darkest of times[1] and the triumph of humanity over hate.[2]
For the live film recording of the musical, see Come from Away (film).Come from Away
Irene Sankoff
David Hein
Irene Sankoff
David Hein
After having record-breaking runs at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California, and the Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2015, at the Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., and the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto in 2016,[3] it opened on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on March 12, 2017 and became a critical and box office success. A live recording of the production was released on September 10, 2021, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the attacks. The Broadway production closed on October 2, 2022 after playing 25 previews and 1,669 regular performances.[4]
The musical premiered at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, in December 2018 and then transferred to the Phoenix Theatre in the West End in February 2019.[5] The London production closed on January 7, 2023.[6]
At the 71st Tony Awards in 2017, the musical was nominated for seven awards, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Jenn Colella, winning for Best Direction of a Musical for Christopher Ashley.[7]
Inception and development[edit]
The show was conceived by Michael Rubinoff, a Toronto lawyer, theatre producer, and Associate Dean of Visual and Performing Arts at Sheridan College in Oakville.[8] After approaching various writing teams about the project, Rubinoff attracted Irene Sankoff and David Hein,[8] whose work he knew from their 2009 musical My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding, which was a hit at the Toronto Fringe Festival and later picked up by Mirvish Productions.[9]
In 2011, Sankoff and Hein visited Gander on the tenth anniversary of the attacks to interview locals and returning passengers.[8] The couple translated some stories directly to the musical while others were merged for story purposes. Rubinoff used their initial script to produce a 45-minute workshop version for the Canadian Music Theatre Project, part of the Sheridan College Music Theatre Performance Program, in 2012. The workshop was sufficiently successful that Rubinoff invited Sankoff and Hein to finish writing it for a full production at Sheridan in 2013, as part of the college's regular theatrical season. The full production, directed by Brian Hill, was an artistic success, but Rubinoff was unable to attract a Canadian producer for further development.[9]
In the meantime, Goodspeed Musicals of East Haddam, Connecticut, included the show in its Festival of New Musicals.[8] The National Alliance for Musical Theatre in New York selected it as a showcase presentation in fall 2013, where a performance, also directed by Brian Hill, led to the show being optioned by Junkyard Dog Productions, the production company behind Memphis and First Date.[9][10]
Synopsis[edit]
On the morning of September 11, 2001, the townsfolk of Gander (including Claude the mayor, Oz the police constable, Beulah the teacher, Bonnie the SPCA worker, and others) describe life in Newfoundland and how they learn of the terrorist attacks taking place in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania ("Welcome to the Rock").
The attacks result in the closure of US airspace, diverting 38 international aircraft to Gander International Airport. The passengers on these aircraft doubled the population of the small Newfoundland town, which is unequipped for the influx of stranded travelers ("38 Planes"). The Gander townspeople spring to action and prepare to house, feed, clothe, and comfort the nearly 7,000 passengers (along with 19 animals in cargo) ("Blankets and Bedding"). Meanwhile, the pilots, flight attendants, and passengers are initially forbidden from leaving the planes, forcing them to contend with confusing and conflicting information about what has happened and why they were suddenly grounded ("28 Hours / Wherever We Are").
Once allowed off the planes and transferred to nearby emergency shelters ("Darkness and Trees"), the passengers and crew watch replays of the attacks on the news and learn the true reason why they were grounded ("Lead Us Out of the Night"). The frightened and lonely passengers desperately try to contact their families and pray for their loved ones while the townsfolk work through the night to help them in any and every way they can ("Phoning Home / Costume Party"). The travelers are initially taken aback by their hosts' uncommon hospitality, but they slowly let their guards down and begin to bond with the quirky townsfolk and each other. The "islanders" in Gander and the surrounding towns open up their homes to the "plane people", regardless of their guests' race, nationality, or sexual orientation. Two women, Beulah (from Gander) and Hannah (from New York), bond over the fact that both of their sons are firefighters, but Hannah's son remains missing after the attacks ("I Am Here"). Hannah asks Beulah to take her to a Catholic church, and a number of characters make their way to other houses of worship around town ("Prayer").
To alleviate rising fear and mounting tensions ("On The Edge"), the townspeople invite the passengers to be initiated as honorary Newfoundlanders at the local bar ("Heave Away / Screech In"). The gravity of the attacks nevertheless continues to set in as US airspace is eventually reopened. One trailblazing pilot, Beverley Bass, comments on how her once optimistic view of the world has suddenly changed ("Me and the Sky"). While one pair of passengers develops a romance despite the terrible circumstances ("The Dover Fault/Stop the World"), another couple's long-term relationship falls apart under the stress of the event.
As the passengers and crew fly away to their homes, they joyously exchange stories of the immense kindness and generosity that the Newfoundland strangers showed the strangers in their time of need ("Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere"), but not before a Muslim traveler, faced with increasing prejudice from his fellow passengers, undergoes a humiliating strip search prior to boarding. The townsfolk in Gander return to normalcy but comment on how empty their town now seems and how different the world now feels. The passengers and airline staff who return to the United States are faced with the horror of the attacks' aftermath—including Hannah, who learns that her firefighter son died during the rescue efforts ("Something's Missing").
Ten years later, the crew and passengers (the "come from away") of the once stranded planes reunite in Gander, this time by choice, to celebrate the lifelong friendships and strong connections they formed in spite of the terrorist attacks ("Finale"). As Claude the mayor professes, "Tonight we honour what was lost, but we also commemorate what we found."
† Not listed on the show's Playbill
Critical reception[edit]
Seattle[edit]
Misha Berson, writing for the Seattle Times, praised Christopher Ashley's fluid staging, calling the show a "meaningful balm to the benumbed psyche." Berson closed the review noting how the show "honors our capacity for humble goodness and mutual empathy in the shadow of faith-shattering evil."[69]
Jay Irwin with Broadway World called the production "emotionally transcendent" and "the best musical I've seen all year and possibly ever."[70]
Washington, DC[edit]
David Gerson with DC Metro Theatre Arts called the show "one of the most refreshing pieces of art that I have seen in years. The folk and country influenced pop score is tuneful and the cast sings the hell out of it."[71] Peter Marks, in his review in The Washington Post, noted that the musical "stirs powerful memories of 9/11 ... if the book's mechanics unfold with too much sugar, the score has an infectious, gritty vitality: Especially good is a number set in a Gander pub, choreographed by Kelly Devine, during which a risibly nutty local initiation rite is performed, involving the embrace of a recently caught codfish."[72]
Toronto[edit]
Kelly Nestruck of The Globe and Mail wrote that "the heartwarming musical lives up to the hype" and that "the accessible story, strong emotional core and gorgeous songwriting should not distract from how original and smart this gem of a musical is."[73] Robert Cushman of the National Post called the production "outstanding."[74] Liz Braun of the Toronto Sun gave the show a perfect 5-star review, writing "Blame Canada: a grim day in American history has been transformed into a joyous and emotional musical about the indomitable human spirit."[75] Alan Henry of Broadway World said "You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll be a better person when you leave the theatre. Don't miss 'Come From Away'."[76]
Broadway[edit]
Ben Brantley, chief theatre critic for The New York Times, wrote "Try, if you must, to resist the gale of good will that blows out of 'Come From Away,' the big bearhug of a musical that opened on Sunday night at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater. But even the most stalwart cynics may have trouble staying dry-eyed during this portrait of heroic hospitality under extraordinary pressure."[77] He awarded the show the Critics' Pick designation, given to productions the critic believes have particular merit.
Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News called the show "big-hearted and crowd-pleasing" and "a singing reminder that when things are at their worst, people can be at their best."[78]
Joe Westerfield with Newsweek wrote that "'Come From Away' accomplishes what all the best musicals do: It takes you to a place where you didn't know you wanted to go, and makes you not want to leave."[79]
Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter called the musical "heartwarming and thoroughly entertaining ... especially in these politically fractious times."[80]
Johnny Oleksinski with the New York Post wrote that "Every New Yorker must see this show", referring to the musical as "Broadway's biggest and best surprise of the season."[81]
Peter Marks of The Washington Post called the show "an effervescent musical" and "an antidote for what ails the American soul."[82]
Michael Dale of Broadway World called the show an "inspiring, funny and kick-ass beautiful new musical" and went on to say that "as long as 'Come From Away' is playing on Broadway, I will recommend it to everyone. Everyone."[83]
Steven Suskin, drama critic for The Huffington Post, wrote that "'Come From Away' is altogether different and altogether gripping, ... brave and new and unusual and overwhelmingly heart-tugging."[84]
Robert Kahn with NBC called the piece "a dignified, often funny new musical" which "find[s] a spiritual angle to a horrific story, depicting the goodness in humanity while still allowing us room for the feelings of loneliness and fear that will always be connected to that time."[85]
Jennifer Vanasco with WNYC called the show "a love letter – to Newfoundland, to New York, to what people can do if they set aside fear and hate. Don't miss it."[86]
Adaptations[edit]
Cancelled theatrical feature film[edit]
In November 2017, it was announced that The Mark Gordon Company would produce a feature film adaptation of the musical, with Sankoff and Hein writing the screenplay and Christopher Ashley as director.[102] In April 2019, Sankoff and Hein stated that the intention was to shoot in Gander and cast lesser-known actors, with Gander residents as extras.[103]
