Interview: Adam Williams And Kristin Kelleher of COME FROM AWAY at Short North Stage

As a flight attendant years after the Sept. 11 attacks, Adam Williams used to think it was a minor inconvenience every time his plane was diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, and Labrador because of a storm in New York City.

It turned out to be foreshadowing for the actor.

Nearly 15 years later, the Columbus resident will be reliving that experience every show in the Short North Stage production of COME FROM AWAY Jan. 22-Feb. 15 at the Garden Theater (1187 N. High Street in downtown Columbus).

The musical is based on the true story of Operation Yellow Ribbon — when 38 commercial airliners and 7,000 people were diverted to Gander in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City.

“(During the layovers) the airline did everything they do in the show: they turned on movies, gave us water, and tried to keep everyone as comfortable as possible,” said Williams, who now works on a security team for a major airline.

“It's an uneasy feeling. You're just hoping it'll end soon, but you sort of laugh at it too.”

Williams’ stays in Gander usually lasted hours; the passengers’ deferment in the musical lasts nearly a week. The David Hein-Irene Sankoff penned musical celebrates how the residents embraced the stranded travelers during a stressful moment in time.

Williams, who plays both British passenger Nick Marson and Doug, a Newfoundland air traffic controller, said he has dreamed of being in this show ever since he saw COME FROM AWAY.

“Once you see this show, it becomes a bucket list thing,” he said. “It’s a story that stays with you, and you want to be a part in telling it.”

Williams shares that sentiment with castmate Kristin Rose Kelleher, who portrays pilot Beverly Bass and Annette, a Gander schoolteacher. Both actors were living in New York City during the Sept. 11 attacks, both saw COME FROM AWAY during its original Broadway run, and both consider performing in the musical a career-defining role.

For Kelleher, the show carries an especially personal weight. Her father Joe, who worked across the street from the World Trade Center, helped restore the city’s electrical grid in the aftermath of the attacks.

“He’d come home every day covered in soot,” she said. “But he was so passionate about helping others and working together with his fellow New Yorkers.”

Kelleher’s father died three years ago from brain cancer, which her family believes may have been linked to his time at Ground Zero.

“I dedicate every show I do to him, but this one is different,” she said. “I know how much he would have loved it. He believed in me so much, and I still feel him with me, pushing me forward.”

Williams was working in a restaurant in 2001 and was scheduled for a 2 p.m. shift on Sept. 11.

“I lived in New Jersey, but I had a clear view of the city,” he said. “I remember running downstairs and watching it, not believing what I was seeing.”

In the days that followed, he leaned on close friends for support.

“I went to a friend’s house and didn’t really leave for days,” he said. “We were just trying to take care of each other.”

Other actors have close associations to the show as well. Andrew Hendrick (Claude) and Hannah Kathryn Wall (Hannah) are coming to the SNS production after being a part of the COME FROM AWAY national tour.

Unlike previous productions such as THE WIZ, JERSEY BOYS, or NINE, Short North Stage will use a stripped-down set for COME FROM AWAY with chairs being moved to simulate restaurants, shelters, and jetliners.

While the set may have been relatively easy to construct, there are other challenges to handle. Actors often have to play five to nine different roles. That means mastering a range of vast plethora of accents. Williams credits dialect coach Joel Rainwater in helping him flip-flop between a British accent and a Newfoundlander’s twang.

“The hardest part is making sure we not only say the lines with a good accent, but also to make it so clear the audience can understand what we're saying,” Williams said.

“The Newfoundland accent is definitely one of the harder accents to do. It leans towards an Irish accent at times and Canadian at times. You're trying not to sound like you're straight out of Boston or Minnesota. There's more color to it.”

Kelleher feels a great responsibility portraying Bass, the first female captain of a commercial plane at American Airlines and headed up the first all-female crew in commercial jet aviation history.

To prepare for the role, Kelleher read Jim DeFede’s book THE DAY THE WORLD CAME TO TOWN, watched hours of interviews with Bass and others, and even befriended Bass on Facebook.

“(Bass) loves to talk, so it was pretty exciting to chat with her,” she said. “I felt like I was soaking in as much as I possibly could.”

Both Williams and Kelleher caught COME FROM AWAY on a whim during its original Broadway run. Williams was able to find standing room only tickets for a show while Kelleher caught a performance between auditions.

Both of them walked away from the show knowing it was a show they had to be in during their career.

Now both are hoping the Garden Theater audiences will see the results of that hard work during the run of the shows.

“(COME FROM AWAY) has the kind of music that when you sing it, you get goosebumps,” Williams said. “All (of the compassion and care the Gander residents provided) happened without hesitation.

“I hope the audience sees what it is to show love to someone who really needs it and what true human compassion looks like.”