the Come from Away ensemble
Remembering the devastating losses and world-changing terror of 9/11 doesn't usually inspire joy, or instill hope. But there's a musical about it that does both, focusing on how the destruction in New York City and Washington D.C. affected a little island roughly 1,500 miles northeast.
Come From Away, which is now playing at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse – its book, music, and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein – tells a true tale of astonishing generosity and love from a rural community to a collection of strangers. The musical took its maiden flight in 2013, landed on Broadway in 2017, and was nominated for seven Tonys, winning for Best Direction of a Musical. A filmed stage production, meanwhile, was released in 2021, and Circa '21 director M. Seth Reines and music director Ron May have put together an engaging and enjoyable production with the aid of many talented cast and crew members.
The events portrayed in the show unfolded when the entire U.S. became a no-fly zone on September 11, 2001. Thirty-eight commercial and military planes, carrying almost 7,000 passengers and crew, were forced to land on a remote Canadian island, Newfoundland, which is smaller than Iowa. (Its population was 512,000 in 2001; Iowa's count hovers around 3 million, as it did back then.) The residents of Gander, a small town supporting Newfoundland's large airport, were suddenly overwhelmed with refugees. To an eastern Canadian, a "come-from-away" is any non-local, and these surprise visitors, who nearly doubled Gander's population, were also called "the plane people." Their impact? Imagine that the combined communities of Silvis and Carbon Cliff were suddenly host to everyone living in Eldridge.
Lodging, food, supplies, transportation, each requiring a tangle of logistics – the needs were urgent. The travelers were tired, hungry, and as beset by shock and fear as the people of Gander and the rest of the world. In addition, the many multicultural visitors struggled to communicate. The town provided phones; closed schools and converted them to dormitories; canceled hockey games to store food on the ice. Bus drivers suspended their strike to pitch in. The Ganderites made pilgrimages out and brought back toothbrushes and diapers, and pulled clothes from their own closets for their guests. Some opened their homes to them.
While the Come from Away material is inherently moving, there are humorous bits sprinkled throughout. (Watch for the provocatively gyrating cardiologists.) However, it's not all smiles and bliss with halos afloat in Gander. A few clashes are represented, notably involving an Egyptian Muslim passenger who is detained, searched, and accused due to his nationality and religion. Though some characters are composites, others are portrayals of actual individuals who were there, the musical employing their real names and biographical details.
In Reines' production, we get glimpses of some of the experiences of thousands over five intense days, portrayed by an extraordinary cast of 13. Actors become residents, airline employees, and come-from-aways throughout, each new identity clear even with only occasional costume changes. These wonderful performers are Bobby Becher, Gregory Naman, Hanna Marie Felver, Kimberly (Kurtenbach) Vanderginst, Renée Elizabeth Turner, Sarah Hayes, Shelley Walljasper, Stephen Charles Turner, Syd Richardson, Tariq Woods, Tom Walljasper, and Tristan Layne Tapscott. One of the understudies, Emmett Boedecker, makes a brief cameo. Also, during Thursday's night's preview performance, a non-union juvenile performer, clearly a novice, pulled focus throughout much of the first act by soaring through the set and over the house, despite the no-fly restriction. My theatre companion informed me it was a big brown bat.
Most of the musical numbers include the whole ensemble, and the volume and power of those joined voices are most impressive. The score includes lively Irish and Scottish influences, reflecting the Newfoundlanders' heritage, and the number that moved me the most was simply titled "Prayer." It begins with "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace" by Sebastian Temple, a classic 20th-century hymn I'd sung in my Catholic grade school. Then, two more traditional songs are woven in: "Oseh Shalom," a Jewish prayer for peace, and "Asatoma," a Hindu prayer for enlightenment.
As for the show's visuals, set designer and scenic artist Becky Meissen created an inspired backdrop, composed of long slats of different shades of wood, evoking the rustic aspect of the setting as well as airport architecture. On it is a large brown outline map of the U.S. and Canada, with Newfoundland emphasized. Meissen's set is simple and very effective, and after each scene, actors reposition wooden chairs and tables quickly and silently – and a plane in which passengers suffered a tarmac delay for 28 hours is transformed into a Legion Hall, or a pub, where a "screech-in" ceremony to make the come-from-aways honorary Newfoundlanders will be held. It involves a large cod.
Somewhat marring Thursday's experience were the echoes heard throughout, which made some lines hard to understand – I'm guessing due to the set having so many hard surfaces. This was a minor issue, though, and Circa '21's Come from Away is very much worth making time to see … especially now, when hatred and divisiveness are so rampant.
Come from Away runs at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse (1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL) through November 1, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)786-7733 extension 2 and visiting Circa21.com.
