The Ford’s Theatre cast of ‘Come From Away,’ directed by Christopher Ashley. (Carol Rosegg)
September 11th doesn’t exactly make you think of musical theater. But in Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s Come from Away, the horrors of that day are transformed into a celebration of hope in the middle of tragedy.
After the attack on the World Trade Center, 38 planes and thousands of passengers from around the world were diverted to the small Canadian town of Gander in Newfoundland. For one day, the community’s population doubled as townspeople provided food and shelter to a diverse group of people unified by trauma. These varied cultures collided in heartwarming ways, and a decade later, people returned to Gander to reignite friendships and relive the experiences they shared together as the world seemed to fall apart.
Sankoff and Hein visited Gander for that 10th anniversary, and mined a number of real stories for their play, which will be heading to Broadway next spring (after a stop in Toronto). While the play dramatizes the staggering logistics of housing thousands of people at a moment’s notice, it is more concerned with exploring the intersections of diverging viewpoints.
There’s a harrowing sense of whiplash as the show turns from the homespun charm of friendly Canadians lounging around a Tim Horton’s to the frenzied tension of travelers landing in a place they’ve never been, not yet aware that the world has irrevocably changed.
At its core, Come from Away feels a little too much like a Hallmark card to truly resonate, remaining largely divorced from thornier societal concerns. But the play’s execution comes from a genuine spirit that’s stronger than pure schmaltz, riding a wave of terrific performances and infectious musical numbers.
From a logistical standpoint, the show has serious disaster potential, managing a sprawling cast of a dozen actors, each playing three or four distinct characters. But Tony-nominated director Christopher Ashley runs a tight ship, using effective blocking to reconfigure sight lines and framing to help contain the broad narrative.
The spectacle is a blast, but it’s the quieter character moments that make this piece really sing. The two Kevins (Chad Kimball and Caesar Samayoa) are a city couple that fight over their different approaches to their new environs. A budding romance unfolds between Brit businessman Doug (Lee McDougal) and Texas sweetheart Diane (Sharon Wheatley) that provides a hopeful tether between some of the show’s more somber notes. Q. Smith conveys sincere pathos as Hannah, a woman who doesn’t know whether or not her firefighter son is alive.
Perhaps the real standout is Jenn Colella as Beverly, a pilot whose solo number “Me and The Sky” traces a history of women in the airline industry against the backdrop of a new world where air travel is no longer thrilling but terrifying. Other plot strands land with a thud, as in an Egyptian Muslim (also played by Samayoa) universally mistrusted by the community, only to be revealed as a five star chef who merely wants to help with the food. This chef is subjected to appalling treatment in the last act that would be more significant if it wasn’t glossed over to serve a more uplifting epilogue.
Come from Away doesn’t fully grapple with heavier themes, but focuses on what unites us rather than what divides us. While Neil LaBute’s The Mercy Seat exploited 9/11 to underline the base grotesqueness he sees in the heart of mankind, this is a show that encourages us to see the best in our fellow human beings. It may not give us the complexity we want; but it delivers the catharsis we need.
Come from Away has just been extended, and it now running through October 16 at Ford’s Theatre. Tickets are available here.
