Review: COME FROM AWAY at Wildwood Park For The Arts in Little Rock

I get asked a lot about what is my favorite show that I don't mind repeating, and quite often I don't have a real answer. Well, this time I do. COME FROM AWAY has moved into my number one position of shows to see over and over, and this is partly due to the Broadway-worthy performance at Wildwood Park for the Arts in Little Rock, which is running through Sunday, September 20.  

Based on the remarkable true story of thousands of airline passengers diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, COME FROM AWAY takes one of the darkest moments in modern history and focuses on something beautiful that emerged from it: people taking care of people.

The timing of Wildwood's production carries even more significance this year. Opening night fell on September 11, exactly 25 years after the terrorist attacks that forever changed our country.

 Earlier that day, Wildwood commemorated the anniversary with Standing Together 9/11, a tribute luncheon remembering those whose lives were changed and lost while reflecting on the courage and compassion that followed.

The program included a panel featuring Rex Nelson, who was serving as policy and communications director for Gov. Mike Huckabee on September 11, 2001; longtime Arkansas broadcaster Craig O'Neill, who was anchoring the late newscasts on THV11; and Sharon Priest, the Canadian-born former Arkansas Secretary of State.

 There was also a formal presentation of the flags by the Arkansas National Guard Color Guard, representatives from the Little Rock Police Department and Little Rock Fire Department, and music led by Dr. Nick Farr with Una Voce from Lyon College. Members of the COME FROM AWAY cast also participated.

Susan Altrui, event chair and a Wildwood board member, said the gathering was an opportunity to consider “the lessons of courage, compassion, and unity that continue to resonate 25 years later.”

Wildwood Executive Director and COME FROM AWAY director Bevan Keating similarly described the event as a chance to remember “the extraordinary acts of courage and compassion that followed” September 11 while celebrating “the humanity and kindness that connected people across the world.”

 That could not lead more perfectly into COME FROM AWAY.

Behind this Broadway-worthy production is a creative team that keeps the story moving with remarkable precision. Keating directs, with Bruce Rentz serving as Producer and Scenic Designer, Bob Bidewell as Music Director, Christina Munoz as Choreographer, Zachary D. Rhodes as Stage Manager, Dena Kimberling as Lighting Designer and Shelly Hall as Costume Designer.

COME FROM AWAY moves at an incredible pace, with characters, locations and emotions shifting constantly, and this team makes those transitions feel seamless. The movement, scenic elements, lighting and costumes support the storytelling without distracting from the people at the center of it.

 A WHO'S WHO OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS THEATRE

This cast is basically a who's who of Central Arkansas theatre, and it was impossible for me to decide who my favorite character was.

Normally, I leave a show with at least one or two performers I can't stop talking about, but COME FROM AWAY doesn't really work that way. This is an ensemble in the truest sense.

These performers continually transform into different people, often with little more than a change in posture, voice, accent or costume piece. One moment they are Newfoundlanders trying to figure out how they are going to feed and house thousands of unexpected visitors, and the next they are passengers who have no idea why their planes have landed or when they will be allowed to go home.

With so many familiar Central Arkansas theatre faces sharing one stage, I kept having moments of, “Oh, I love them!” only to think the exact same thing about somebody else a few minutes later.

So, no. I'm not picking a favorite this time.

They are going to have to share me.

 Matthew Tatus as Claude does a great job portraying a leader suddenly faced with an emergency nobody could possibly have prepared for. As the mayor of Gander, Claude is trying to keep his town moving forward while figuring out how they are going to accommodate thousands of unexpected guests. Tatus gives him the right combination of authority, humor and “we'll figure this out somehow” determination.

Gabrielle Neafsey as Janice also made me laugh as the new reporter in town who certainly didn't expect this to be her introduction to Gander. Neafsey lets Janice's frustrations be known as she tries to cover an enormous breaking story while still finding her footing in a new job.

 My daughter pointed out something she especially loved about the show: among all these interconnected stories, a female pilot gets one of the major featured storylines.

Moriah Connerson portrays Beverley, whose story celebrates a woman breaking barriers in aviation long before September 11. We learn about her love of flying, her journey into a male-dominated profession and what it meant for someone who loved the sky so much to watch the world of aviation change in an instant.

That makes “Me and the Sky” especially powerful. Connerson takes us through Beverley's journey beautifully, and I loved that my daughter noticed the importance of seeing her story given such prominence.

 Another storyline that really got to me involved Valerie Arnold, O.D. and Taijee as the apprehensive African couple who are frightened and reluctant to get off the bus after arriving in Gander.

My heart poured out to them.

They don't understand what is happening or whether the strangers around them can be trusted. Then Michael Goodbar's character finds a way to reach them by using her Bible to find something familiar and reassure them that they are safe.

That's when I could feel a tear forming.

It is such a simple interaction, but it represents so much of what I love about COME FROM AWAY. They don't share the same language or culture, yet someone makes the effort to communicate. Arnold and Taijee make the couple's fear palpable, while Goodbar brings tenderness to the exchange.

 Taijee also gets to show off his comedic side as Bob, and he cracked me up. When Bob is sent around collecting people's barbecue grills for the community cookout, he is understandably concerned that somebody might shoot him for taking their barbecue!

His nervous reactions make the situation even funnier. I loved seeing Taijee go from making my heart ache in one character to making me laugh as Bob. That ability to switch so quickly between completely different people is exactly what this ensemble does so well.

 As a mom, another of Arnold's characters hit me especially hard. Her Hannah develops a friendship with Kira Keating's Beulah as the two women bond over their firefighter sons.

They are connected as mothers, but their circumstances are painfully different. Beulah offers comfort and understanding while Hannah desperately waits for news about her son in New York.

Arnold and Keating handle those scenes with such tenderness. There doesn't need to be a huge theatrical gesture. It is simply one mother recognizing the fear in another mother and choosing to stay beside her.

I was emotional.

 Maybe the storyline that upset me the most, though, was Xander Udochi's Ali, a Muslim passenger who finds himself viewed with suspicion because of his faith and appearance.

That broke my heart.

Here is a man who is stranded and frightened just like everyone else, yet he has the additional burden of realizing that some of the people around him are afraid of him. Udochi brings such humanity to Ali that I couldn't emotionally distance myself from what was happening.

His story is essential because COME FROM AWAY doesn't pretend everyone immediately came together. It acknowledges the prejudice and mistrust that existed alongside extraordinary acts of kindness.

Thankfully, there are plenty of relationships that made me smile.

The two Kevins, played by J. Kirt Thomas and Michael Goodbar, were a fun couple to watch. Thomas and Goodbar have great chemistry together, bringing humor and tenderness to their relationship (until they break up in the end) as they navigate being unexpectedly stranded in Newfoundland.

 Then there are Nick and Diane, played by AJ Green and Ashley Merrill, who were simply precious. Green and Merrill have an easy, endearing chemistry that made me root for them from the beginning. Watching a little romance blossom amid the chaos was another reminder that even during an incredibly dark time, life—and love—continued.

Liz Mathis as Bonnie and Jeremy Clay as Doug also make a great team as husband and wife. Their comfortable chemistry makes them immediately believable as a couple, but Mathis had one moment as Bonnie that absolutely cracked me up.

 Bonnie is determined to get to the animals stranded aboard the planes, and when Doug tells her the military has the planes surrounded and she can't just go out there, her response is basically that they're going to have to shoot her.

I loved her! Good luck stopping her.

AND THEN THERE'S REX...

Of course, it is no secret that I love Rex Wilkins, and his Oz absolutely cracked me up.

His comedic timing and character choices had me watching for him throughout the show because I never knew what he was going to do next.

 And then he put on the ruffles.

Wilkins launched into a stream of very seductive Spanish, and did I understand what he was saying?

Nope. Not a clue.

Did that matter?

Also nope.

Whatever he was saying, he committed to it with such confidence and flair that I was definitely under the spell he was casting.

Another one of my favorite comedy moments came when the women were looking for volunteers to help clean the bathrooms.

Enter the men.

 They came strutting out in doctor's coats and turned what should have been a very unglamorous cleaning assignment into a tiny male revue dance. I was cracking up! Their exaggerated confidence and complete commitment made the whole bit even funnier.

You go into a musical centered around September 11 expecting to be emotional—and you certainly are—but I wasn't prepared for how much fun I would have.

The comedy doesn't diminish the seriousness of the story. It makes these people feel more human. Even in frightening circumstances, people find reasons to laugh, flirt, dance and be a little ridiculous.

And apparently, if you need someone to clean the bathrooms, it helps to turn the job into a male revue.

 THE MUSIC IS PART OF THE MAGIC

And you know I love a live orchestra, so COME FROM AWAY was already speaking my language.

Music Director Bob Bidewell leads the musicians while also serving as conductor and playing Keyboard 1. Joining him are Jason Burnett on guitar, Becky Goins on Keyboard 2, Logan Smith on percussion, Ayla Paredes on fiddle, Daniel Schoultz on bass and Matt Stone on mandolin.

This isn't a score where the musicians simply provide accompaniment. The music feels like another character in the story. With its Celtic and folk influences, the score gives the production its heartbeat and creates that distinctive Newfoundland atmosphere.

I especially loved hearing the fiddle and mandolin live.

And I learned something new during COME FROM AWAY.

I have heard the phrase “beat you with an ugly stick” plenty of times, but I had never actually seen an Ugly Stick until this show!

The Newfoundland Ugly Stick is a homemade percussion instrument covered with all sorts of noisemakers, and seeing one incorporated into the music added to the wonderfully quirky personality of the production.

Apparently, COME FROM AWAY is not only my new number one show to see on repeat—it is educational, too.

Who knew an Ugly Stick was a real thing?

 And then there is the Screech-In!

Featured dancer Sarahjane Lay takes the stage as the Screech-In Clogger, adding another burst of Newfoundland personality to the celebration. Her dancing, combined with the musicians cutting loose, makes the moment feel less like we are sitting in a theatre in Little Rock and more like we have been invited to join the party ourselves.

That balance between celebration and heartbreak is what makes COME FROM AWAY extraordinary.

September 11 hangs over everything, but then someone offers food. Someone finds a stranger a place to sleep. Someone takes care of an animal. Someone pours a drink. Someone makes another person laugh.

The seemingly small acts become enormous. COME FROM AWAY celebrates ordinary people who saw someone who needed help and essentially said, Come on in. We'll figure it out. 

If you haven't gotten your tickets, get them now. The show ends this weekend, and I don't want you to miss it! For more information, visit their website at wildwoodpark.org. 

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