Review: COME FROM AWAY at Eight O'Clock Theatre

Spectacular - One word that encompasses it all. Director James Grenelle and Music Director Emi P. Stefanov put on a show that should be mandatory for the entire Tampa Bay community to see.

To remember unity. Giving. Kindness. A tragedy that brought our world together.

On stage through September 13, Come From Away at Eight O'Clock Theatre was the strongest version of this story I have ever seen. It surpassed the Broadway tour from a few years ago, and the recent PBS video I watched. This wasn't a cast performing emotion. It was a cast living inside it. It never once felt like the "community theatre" label some might assume. This operated at a professional level from start to finish.

The lighting with follow spots (Rob Lastinger, Jay Heatherly, Irina Veltman, Gus Bostick), sound (Domenic Bisesti, David O'Brien, Kevin Pace, and Matthew Wieder) and live band (Stefanov, Brooke Stuart, Dan Kalosky, Dan Mockenturm, Mark Warren, Julia Ford-Rychel, and Chelsea Smith) supported the story without ever overwhelming it. The costumes (Debbi and Kyra Lastinger) were perfect, and choreography was sharp and purposeful. The set (Grenelle, Bisesti, Eric Johnson, and Julia Rifino) was simple, yet the cast used chairs and tables to create entire worlds with precise movement. Their transitions into new characters with just a hat or a sweater were seamless.

Vocally, it was flawless across the ensemble. I can't call out a single performer, because in this show each individual stood out. Sadra Bostick, Amber Britner, Rick Coates, Emma Foroutan, Steven Fox, Peter Jackson, Hope Lelekacs, Mika McGee Kleinschmidt, Natalie Ness, David Russell, DJ Schuett, and Rand Smith left everything they had on that stage.

Dialect coach Lori L. Engler gave the cast a beautifully consistent Newfoundland lilt.

Several scenes stayed with me. For whatever reason, I noticed more in this performance than I had in the previous ones I'd seen. The prayer scene, with multiple religions and languages layered together, was one of the most moving moments of the night. It captured the shared fear and shared hope of that day with simplicity and honesty. Hannah's search for her son, sitting and waiting by the phone, was raw and heart-wrenching. Beulah talking to the rare chimpanzee who lost her baby was another quiet, powerful moment. The tenderness in that scene said more than any speech could.

The gay couple who felt completely welcomed in Gander reminded me how rare that kind of unconditional acceptance still is. The Muslim chef being intimately searched before being allowed on the plane made my throat tighten every time. And the Black passenger who felt completely safe in Gander… until he returned home always breaks me. It forces the question we still struggle with: Would America, faced with this situation today, offer shelter... or would we send the plane people to detention centers?

My favorite song will always be "Me and the Sky," and this production honored it beautifully. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11, this show reminded me how far backwards we have gone, and how much the people of Gander showed us what compassion looks like when it is freely given.

This cast honored that legacy with clarity, heart, and truth. It was a reminder of who we were at our best, and who we still have the capacity to be.

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Review: COME FROM AWAY at Eight O'Clock Theatre

9/8/2026