I didn’t fly until I was an adult, and some of the first flights I took were long international flights: D.C. to London, London to San Francisco, San Francisco to Auckland. I was excited to sit in window seats and take in the views of countries I had never visited, but it made me nervous to ask people to let me out into the aisle. I didn’t want to inconvenience anybody.
On my third long flight, the woman next to me sat down and immediately said, “Don’t worry about when you need to get up. We all need to do it and we’re in here together.” I always think about her when I think about flying. It’s a common situation where we have an uncommon lack of control over our environment: no control over delays and gate changes, the time the plane leaves the tarmac, or the space around us. Sometimes, it inspires a sense of mutual cooperation and care directly tied to the experience of being stuck together with limited agency.
Come From Away explores this phenomenon pushed to the extreme, commemorating the ingenuity, kindness, and resilience of residents and airline passengers in Gander, Newfoundland, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. When the U.S. closed its airspace on that day, over 6,000 passengers on 38 planes landed unexpectedly at the small town’s airport. For days until the airspace reopened, Gander’s residents fed, housed, and welcomed the stranded passengers. Come From Away captures the frantic, collective confusion of the moment, and explores the complicated relationship between the passengers’ and residents’ meaningful, eye-opening experiences during those days and the horrifying events that led them to Gander.
Skilled Musicians and Crew Set the Pace
Virginia Rep’s production of Come From Away is everything I want from an evening of musical theatre. It’s energetic, engaging, and both funny and emotionally resonant. The musicians and singers sound terrific. Any weaknesses in the script are easily forgiven when considered against the overall well-meaning and charm of the story. It’s a profoundly moving play about ordinary people. I’m sure the show is amazing on Broadway, but honestly, watching it in my hometown in an intimate theatre felt like a perfect thematic fit.
Once the news of the attacks reaches residents in Gander, Come From Away launches into a constant stream of action. Pushing it all forward is percussionist Steve Raybould, the show’s MVP. The low thrum continues for minutes at a time, keeping the mood intense and urgent. The pace is unrelenting. Different elements of the production work together seamlessly to communicate changes in setting, time, and which characters are being represented onstage, all while moving quickly and without confusion. Simple movements, like rotating a row of chairs to represent either a plane or bus, are perfectly understood and synchronized flawlessly. I was especially impressed by Joe Doran’s lighting design, which was effective, precise, and an invaluable narrative tool. The production develops an understanding with the audience, trusting that we will buy into quick costume changes and chair position as storytelling devices—then it plays with the rules it’s created to land some of the show’s funniest moments.
A Balancing Act for a Talented Cast of Performers
Come From Away does a lot with a little, dynamically conveying the experiences of passengers, pilots, and residents over the course of several days with limited set changes and a small cast. Its talented cast members each deftly portray several distinctive characters, often switching roles by the minute. This is a musical, and the company sounds great. While I generally preferred the ensemble numbers to the more biographical wish fulfillment songs, Alia Bisharat Glidden’s fantastic vocal performance in “Me and the Sky” was a triumph. The accent work is admirable all around. The performances are funny, silly, and sweet, all while engaging seriously with the gravity and tragedy of the story’s backdrop. It hints at the long-lasting effects of the moment on each of its characters, whether through personal loss or through impending cultural and political changes like heightened Islamophobia.
All I knew about Come From Away before attending this performance was that it was sort of about 9/11, it was a musical, and that everyone I know who’s seen it has spoken of it very highly. My boyfriend and I now count ourselves among that group. It’s an energetic, warm, funny story of true hospitality and community. Based on real events in Gander in September, 2001, it holds up a mirror and asks us how we show up for each other. It reminds us how simple the decision should be to do so. As a media text, it’s a fun, cool production that uses the pared down mechanics of theatre to connect with the audience and tell its story in a creative way.
Come From Away plays through August 2 at Virginia Rep’s November Theatre. The run time is approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission. The show features themes of terrorism, panic, and grief, and Virginia Rep recommends it for ages 10 and up.
