Review: COME FROM AWAY at The Topfer At Zach Theater

I had heard so many good things about Come From Away that by the time I finally saw it, I was curious about all the hype. Broadway is known for creating hype around shows that don't always add up to much, so I wanted to understand what made people respond to this particular musical so strongly. Now I do. Count me in the Come From Away fan club!

ZACH Theatre's production of Come From Away blew me away. It wasn't spectacle that did it, but the simplicity of the story, the humanity on display, and the sheer joy onstage. Somehow, a musical set during one of the darkest moments in recent American history leaves you with the warm, fuzzy feeling that maybe people aren't so bad after all.

Written by Canadian husband-and-wife team Irene Sankoff and David Hein, the musical tells the true story of what happened in Gander, Newfoundland, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. When American airspace was closed, 38 planes carrying nearly 7,000 passengers and crew were diverted to the area. Thousands of frightened strangers from around the world suddenly found themselves stranded in small Newfoundland communities with no idea when they would be able to leave.

The locals opened schools, churches, community centers, and their own homes. They found beds, food, clothing, medicine, phones, showers, and even places for the animals traveling in the planes' cargo holds. They fed people they had never met and welcomed strangers at a moment when much of the world had suddenly become suspicious of them.

Sankoff and Hein built the musical from interviews with locals and returning passengers, creating some characters from real people and others from several experiences. Come From Away opened on Broadway in 2017 and received seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Original Score, with Christopher Ashley winning for Best Direction of a Musical.

Part of what makes the show work is its unusual structure. There is no conventional leading character. A small ensemble plays dozens of people, switching age, nationality, occupation, and personality with little more than a jacket, a hat, an accent, or a change in posture. Scenes become songs, conversations overlap, and one person's story gives way to another without stopping the action.

We meet Beverley Bass, the trailblazing American Airlines pilot who finds herself grounded in Gander. Two stranded passengers fall in love. A mother desperately waits for news of her firefighter son in New York. An Egyptian Muslim passenger finds himself viewed with suspicion as fear spreads. Around them, the locals are trying to feed, house, transport, and comfort several thousand unexpected guests while processing what has happened themselves. Nobody owns the story, and that may be its greatest strength. Every character matters because this is a story about a community.

Director and choreographer Cassie Abate understands that, and ZACH's production moves as one. On opening night, aside from a few sound glitches, it was remarkably tight. Characters, locations, and emotional tones change in seconds, and the company handles those transitions with skill. The choreography is simple and not particularly original, but it does what it needs to do, keeping the ensemble and the story in constant motion.

Scenic designer Michelle Ney takes a different approach from the familiar stripped-down setting of tables and chairs associated with the original production. Here, Newfoundland's nickname, "the Rock," takes physical form in a large, tiered structure with stairs, multiple playing levels, and a rotating platform. The set is more intricate, but remains bare enough to keep the actors at its center. Airports, buses, homes, gathering places, and bars appear without elaborate scene changes, giving ZACH's production its own visual identity without losing the simplicity of the original.

The onstage band, under Music Director Allen Robertson, adds another layer of energy. The Celtic and folk-influenced score brings Newfoundland into the room, and having the musicians visible makes them part of the action. The music is infectious, and some of the show's greatest joy comes when the entire stage seems to turn into one big Newfoundland kitchen party.

Most impressive is the cast, one of the strongest and most cohesive ensembles I have seen at ZACH in recent years. All 12 actors play multiple roles, transforming with a hat, a jacket, an accent, or a shift in posture, yet the characters remain remarkably distinct, and I LOVED THEM ALL!

Carrie Baker (Diane) and Ross Crutchlow (Nick) bring warmth to the two passengers who meet in Gander and unexpectedly fall in love, while Arnie Rodriguez (Kevin J.) and Ryan Everett Wood (Kevin T.) show another relationship moving in the opposite direction, and they are both funny and charming. Curt Denham is memorable as Claude, Gander's mayor (and his Irish accent is hilarious); Maura Vincent is Beulah, the lovely, no-nonesense teacher helping turn a school into a shelter; Shannon Robinson brings humor and heart to Bonnie, the animal lover determined to rescue the animals trapped aboard the planes; and Myk Garcia is a standout as Janice, the young reporter suddenly handed the biggest story of her career.

Leslie McDonnell takes on Beverley Bass, the groundbreaking American Airlines captain with captivating vocals; Delicia A. Dinwiddie is heartwarming and heartbreaking as Hannah, the mother desperately waiting for news of her firefighter son; Will Mallick shines as Oz, Gander's police officer and as the Egyptian passanger trying to help in the kitchen; and Aiden Valentine plays Bob, one of the passengers trying to make sense of where he has landed and what is happening around him, and, at another point, a rather sexy airline captain drawing many laughs from the audience with his exaggerated charm. You have to see it for yourself. It all makes sense onstage, and watching these actors jump from one person to another with mastery is part of the charm.

What stays with you is how ordinary these people are: a mayor, a teacher, a police officer, a reporter, an animal lover, a pilot, a worried mother, and people who happened to get on a plane that morning. Some were helping and some needed help, and many found themselves doing both. From the vocals and movement to the comedy and emotional weight of the story, every actor earns their place in this production. These are Regular People caught in an extraordinary moment, and when the moment demanded more of them, they stepped up.

That may be why Come From Away affected me as much as it did. We know what happened on September 11. We know the images, the fear, and the grief. Twenty-five years later, this musical focuses instead on what a group of ordinary people did next. They made sandwiches, found blankets, opened their homes, cared for animals, poured drinks, made phone calls, and sat beside frightened strangers. For five days, small communities in Newfoundland looked after thousands of people who had quite literally dropped out of the sky.

And frankly, I never doubted for a second that Canadians would be that nice. At a time when we are hearing political rhetoric questioning what Canada has ever done for the United States, there is something satisfying about revisiting a story that provides a pretty good answer. On one of the worst days in American history, our neighbors opened their doors.

But Gander's story is bigger than Canada and the United States. It feels like one of those stories that will survive long after the people who lived it are gone, remembered as a moment when fear could have divided people, but instead brought them together. There is a certain nostalgia in watching it now, not necessarily for 2001, but for the idea that when something terrible happened, neighbors helped neighbors and strangers took care of strangers.

That feels especially welcome today, when so much of the rhetoric encourages us to distrust people who come from somewhere else, worship differently, or speak with a different accent. The musical doesn't pretend prejudice disappeared. An Egyptian Muslim passenger is treated with suspicion because of who he is. People were frightened and imperfect, but they still found ways to help one another.

Maybe that is what all the hype was about. Come From Away takes an enormous tragedy and finds joy in the people who showed up for one another afterward. It is funny, warm, sad, hopeful, and at times downright exuberant. You leave the theatre with that rare warm, fuzzy feeling, nostalgic for a moment when the world seemed to remember that we are all neighbors.

Twenty-five years later, that feels like a story worth telling again. Come From Away was worth the hype, and count me in as another big fan of this story and this show.

Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes, no intermission
Recommended: Ages 10 and up

Come From Away
Book, Music, AND Lyrics BY Irene Sankoff and David Hein
Directed by Casie Abate
Choreographed by Casie Abate
Music Direction by Allen Robertson

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