Review of Come from Away

 

The Come from Away Playbill

On February 12, I saw Come from Away at the Paper Mill Playhouse. It was a one act musical about September 11th 2001 and people getting stranded at a small town in Canada. 

It takes place in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. Claude, the mayor of Gander, is informed by a woman named Janice, a news reporter, while at a Tim Horton's coffee shop. It turned out US Airspace was closed and 7,000 planes diverted to Gander. Two schoolteachers decided they should get blankets and bedding because the passengers were going to get tired and they would need a place to stay. The bus drivers were on strike initially, but they got the people to some shelters. 

At first the passengers are confused as to why they were in Canada. They were later informed of what happened by the TV. There were planes that hit the World Trade Center in NYC and the people could not come home for quite some time. They mentioned the need to contact their loved ones. They contacted their loved ones on phones that looked like pay phones and told them what happened. 

There was this woman by the name of Beverly Bass who was the first female pilot who worked for American Airlines. She got her passengers to Canada safely. There was one part where the people were in a local bar in Gander and they were having a good time. Claude made them kiss a fish on the lips to make them honorary citizens of Gander. I found it touching and funny at the same time.  

I was impressed by the songs as well as the storyline. It was about community as well as needing someone to lean on. In the end of the musical, they went back to the USA safely but their lives were not the same. A same sex couple, both of them named Kevin split up because of the stress of the 9/11 attacks. A woman named Hannah lost her son in the attacks and she is grieving. 

But there was some good that came out of it.

On the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks the people went back to Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. A woman named Diane and a British man named Nick who were in Canada in 2001 started a romantic relationship and they got engaged. Hannah became good friends with one of the school teachers in 2001. She stayed friendly with the Gander schoolteachers even after 10 years.

Have you seen Come from Away? If so, What did you think of it?