Review: COME FROM AWAY at Iao Theatre

With the rising cost of flights and rental cars, I’ll admit it’s not often that I get the urge or opportunity to island-hop off O’ahu. But I absolutely could not miss the chance to see Come From Away at Maui’s historic Iao Theatre, the very first licensed nonprofessional production of the show in the country. It is beautifully poetic that this show, based on the true stories of the 7,000 people from all over the world who were grounded in the small Newfoundland town of Gander on September 11, 2001, should have its community theatre debut in Wailuku, Maui, a stone’s throw from Lahaina. What could be more apt than a show about a community of (Canadian) islanders coming together to care for people in need being performed by, well, a group of (Hawaiian) islanders who came together to care for people in need? As Musical Director Vania Lee Jerome put it in the program: “Here on Maui, especially after the Lahaina wildfires of 2023, we’ve experienced our own Gander moments—neighbors opening homes, strangers becoming family, and aloha in action.” This impulse to come together in times of crisis and of laulima, many hands working together, is evident in multiple aspects of the show, not just from the performers on stage. From the crowdsourcing of luggage for the set (cleverly decorated with period-specific luggage tags from all the airlines that were grounded), to sponsoring a food drive for Maui Food Bank, to utilizing the local Sewing Hui (founded in 2020 for volunteers to sew medical-grade facemarks) for costumes, this production quite literally put the “community” in “community theatre”. And judging by how many cast and crew stated in their bios how honored they felt to be given the chance to tell the moving and uplifting story of Come From Away, and by how many misty eyes I witnessed in the audience (my own included), I can confidently say that there could have been no better place to debut this show than on Maui.

Come From Away is a true ensemble show, with every actor playing multiple roles of both Newfoundlanders and the grounded passengers who had “come from away”. It was such a joy to see this cast of extremely talented actors and musicians take on such a juggernaut of a show (nearly two hours straight through, with no intermission), moving seamlessly from scene to scene and utilizing nothing more than a ragtag collection of chairs and tables to indicate changes in setting and time. Director Kalani Whitford achieved a remarkable pacing and flow throughout, accentuated by simple but effective lighting design (Jake Carter) and near-constant underscoring led by Vania Lee Jerome. It was a treat to see the musicians in the wings for a show like this, where the idea of division—whether between islanders and passengers or  actors and audience—would be simply untenable. The musicians got some stage time in the finale and the rousing Irish reel pub scene of “Screech In”, and seemed to be having as much fun as the actors. A special mention needs to be given to Lin McEwan as the accent coach, as the Newfoundlander’s British/Irish/French amalgam accent is not an easy one to get right, and the entire cast handled it beautifully. There was a cohesiveness to the entire production that helped underscore the theme of “community”, resulting in some beautiful solo moments and lush harmonies in the larger ensemble numbers. But perhaps the most chickenskin moment of the whole show was at the very beginning with “Welcome to the Rock”, as the cast proudly chants about the pride of living on a rock in the middle of the ocean, voices rising in harmony to a chorus of “I’m an islander, I am an islander”. You could tell that each and every one of those people on stage felt that sentiment down to their very core, and set the stage for a memorable and moving night of theatre.

Mr. Whitford states in the program: “'They say no man's an island but an island makes a man.’ I think that touches me because this island, Maui, has made me the man I am today. And this island has made the people you're about to watch, who they are today.” It is clear that he has drawn from his life as an islander to help tell this story of connection through unlikely means and under extreme circumstances, concepts that are all too well understood by Maui residents. But as I stood in the security line at OGG to head home, surrounded by hundreds of others who had “come from away”, I was filled with a sense of hope that the story of this show has positively affected a community who felt truly seen with this production. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to witness this beautiful show, and look forward to more visits to the Valley Isle in the future.