David & Hannah Mirvish & The National Arts Centre/Come From Away, book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, musical staging by Kelly Devine, directed by Christopher Ashley, Royal Alexandra Theatre, open run until Mar. 2, 2025. Tickets here.
I didn’t think it could happen again, but it did.
This is my third go-round with Come From Away, and, to my surprise, I was even on a greater emotional rollercoaster than the other two times. This multi-award winning Canadian musical truly is an intense theatrical experience of laughter and tears.
The opening night audience was ready. When the lights snapped on, and the 12-member cast was revealed in their frozen positions, the screams and cheers and applause went on and on, until finally, David Silvestri, who plays Claude, the mayor, found a space where he could say his opening line.
The Story
Unless you’ve been living on Mars, you must know the incredible story of the closing of American air space after the 9/11 attacks, and the 38 trans-Atlantic planes forced to land at Gander, Newfoundland, disgorging 7,000 passengers onto a town of 9.000.
More to the point, it is the care and feeding of this international population of plane people by local Newfoundlanders that is at the heart of what happened over the next five days.
Let’s give credit where credit is due. It was not just Gander that opened its heart to the people who had come from away, but the surrounding towns of Gambo, Appleton, Lewisporte, Norris Arm, and Glenwood. The Newfoundlanders gave the passengers shelter, food, clothing and love, and it is this interface between the locals and the plane people that is the emotional wellspring of Come From Away.
The Musical
A musical based on this proud Canadian moment was the initial brainchild of Michael Rubinoff, a Toronto theatre producer and a dean at Sheridan College who approached the husband and wife writing team of Irene Sankoff and David Hein about the project. In 2011, the two went to Gander on the tenth anniversary of the 38 planes landing, and interviewed both locals and passengers, resulting in the real-life characters who populate the musical.
And so the journey of Come From Away began — from a Sheridan College production, to several showcases, to off-Broadway tryouts in various cities, to finally, a successful Broadway run that opened in 2017.
The musical went on to became an international triumph, with performances in Great Britain, Ireland and Australia, not to mention Sweden, Holland, Denmark, and Argentina.
Along the way, Mirvish mounted a successful Canadian production in 2018 which got caught by the COVID pandemic, and closed in 2020. There was an attempt to revive the show in 2021, but various forces were against it, and the production was shut down.
Enter the hero in the form of Canadian Heritage which gave funding for a revival of the Canadian production to play Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, before settling in at the Royal Alexandra Theatre where the journey all began. The Royal Alex hosted both the 2016 pre-Broadway tryout, and the 2018-2020 Canadian production. The storied theatre now welcomes Come From Away for its 2024 homecoming.
The Details
I think what makes Come From Away so special is that Sankoff and Hein were not afraid to include the dark side of things along with the upbeat local endeavors to cope with the plane people.
And so, we see the fear of the passengers who don’t understand what has happened, and characters like Hannah, who is worried sick about a son who is a rescue firefighter in New York. Or, we witness the disintegration of the gay relationship of the two Kevins, and most horribly, the humiliating treatment of the Moslem Ali. Then there is Bob, who is waiting to be treated different because he’s Black, and pilot Beverly Bass, who has to accept the fact that her love of flying has now been turned into a weapon.
Balanced against this are the locals and their inspired problem-solving which includes very funny dialogue, not to mention a charming romance between Englishman Nick and American Diane, and of course, the hilarious Honorary Newfoundlander ceremony featuring Newfie screech and Kiss the Cod.
The structure of the musical alternates between scenes showing the locals and the experiences of the passengers. In effect, even though there are individual characters, Come From Away is more of an ensemble piece. In fact, of the 15 musical numbers, only five feature characters, and even those songs are performed with the company.
The Production
The music itself is a tuneful mix of pop, folk, country, contemporary and choral, and yes, this is a show that you can leave humming. I’m still singing “I am an Islander, I am an Islander”. And do stick around for after the curtain call because the terrific onstage band gets a so-called screech-off with a rousing Celtic number.
Kelly Devine’s clever, eye-catching musical staging is not choreography per se. Rather, it is a mix of synchronized gestures and body movements that indicate theme. For example, “Welcome to the Rock” has stamping and fierce in and out, rhythmic thrusts of arms and legs, which go wonderfully well with the hearty lyrics.
What is truly miraculous is Christopher Ashley’s Tony Award-winning direction. Beowulf Borritt has given him a simple, but effective set to work with — a wooden backdrop invoking Newfoundland and mismatched chairs — but what Ashley does with those chairs is phenomenal. One minute they are a plane, and in another they are the mayor’s office, and in another the legion hall.
Since the cast is almost always on stage, Ashley’s placement is superb at separating out the actors in the spotlight from those in the background. He uses the rotating stage sparingly, and only when he wants to portray movement. In fact, the fast pacing and restless motion of the stage picture captures the angst that both the Newfoundlanders and the plane people are going through during this ordeal.
The Ensemble
And let’s hear it for the ensemble.
Miraculously, eight actors are repeating their roles from the original 2018 Canadian production, which is why this cast is so tight. It’s as if they were born to play these characters, with the newbie four fitting right in. Needless to say, everyone can sing and act up a storm.
I’m going to do something in this review that I never do, and that is, log a laundry list of the 12 performers because they are all so very strong at playing both their key character(s), and others as required. I’m following the alphabetical list in the program.
Kyle Brown is Bob, the over-cautious and suspicious Black man. Saccha Dennis is Hannah, the worried mother of the missing New York firefighter. Steffi Didomenicantonio is Janice, the nervous local TV reporter on her first day on the job. Barbara Fulton is Diane, one half of a Gander romance. Lisa Horner is the school teacher Beulah who is one of the chief organizers. James Kall is both Nick, the other half of the Gander romance, and air controller Doug who is Bonnie’s husband.
James Madden is Kevin T., the more positive one of the gay couple, and Garth, the feisty union leader of the striking school bus drivers. Ali Momen is the whining Kevin T., the always negative one of the gay couple, and Ali, the Moslem man who suffers terrible prejudice. Cory O’Brien is Oz, the matter of fact police constable, Kristen Peace is Bonnie of the Gander SPCA who looks after the 19 animals on the planes, and is Doug’s wife. David Silvestri is the take charge Claude, the Mayor of Gander, and finally, Cailin Stadnyk, who is both pilot Beverly Bass and man-obsessed school teacher Annette.
Some of the characters are composites, but all of them are based on real people, and because of this, they capture our hearts. How can you not be touched by the unbelievable kindness and hospitality shown by the Newfoundlanders? Similarly, we are heartened by the reciprocating thanks on the part of the plane people as they grow closer to their hosts.
Final Thoughts
You’d have to be a block of stone not to be moved by this musical, because Sankoff and Hein have pulled off a miracle in their portrait of the ups and downs of human relationships. This is all about having the right stuff.
It’s become something of a tradition that when a production of Come From Away closes, on the final night, the plane people come on stage and stand beside the actor who plays them, and that’s what happened in Ottawa after the three-week sold-out run at the National Arts Centre. It is always a most poignant moment for everyone.
I, however, don’t want that to happen in Toronto, because I want Come From Away to run forever.
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