Review: Welcome To The Rock: MSMT'S COME FROM AWAY Radiates Inspiration

“Welcome to the Rock” sings the cast of Newfoundlanders to their 7000 unexpected visitors on the fateful date of 9/11.  That rock is not only the craggy coastline of the Canadian Maritime province, but also the metaphoric  rock of strength, unstinting kindness and humanity.

September 11, 2001 is one of those events embedded in the global collective consciousness. It is a tragedy that holds universal and personal significance for virtually everyone who experienced it. So deep are the scars of its trauma that it has been difficult to tell the story in any meaningful way - that is until this seemingly “little,” unprepossessing musical by a virtually unknown pair of Canadian authors made its way to the stage in 2017, secured its standing in musical theatre history, and took audiences worldwide on a journey of healing.

MSMT, one of the initial artistic forces nurturing the project through NAMT (National Alliance for Musical Theatre), has obtained the rights to give the Maine premiere, and it does the work and the theatre proud with a cast of twelve MSMT veterans who boast a combined plethora of Broadway credits. The cast is nothing short of brilliant, and the production is nothing short of artistically important.

With music, lyrics, and book by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, COME FROM AWAY way tells the story of Gander, Newfoundland, where thirty-eight grounded planes and their 7000 passengers were forced to land in the immediate aftermath of the attack on the Twin Towers. In a one hundred-minute, twelve character, intense musical drama, it recounts the interaction between the Newfoundlanders and the “plane people.” The book is based on real life stories gathered by the authors in Gander. There is a wide diversity of characters, circumstances, and outcomes. The devastating tragedy remains a haunting presence, never seen, only referred to and embodied in the pain and in the kindness of the characters. But at the same time that tragedy is a looming presence, so, too, is an indomitable sense of humor and joy that deepens the humanity of the story.

The folk-rock score is powerful and often propulsive, laced with Celtic and Newfoundland folk idioms, comprised of strong narrative, ensemble pieces, ballads, amusing ditties, and even a hymn and a love duet. The on-stage instrumental ensemble plays almost continuously throughout the piece, underscoring dialogue, as well as driving the principal musical moments.

In his directorial debut, Mark Johnson delivers a tightly paced, emotionally eviscerating, and uplifting production. Wisely, MSMT has chosen to retain the minimalist style of the original, using chairs and a few props and costume changes to carry the narrative forward.

The choreography by Kelly Liz Bolick organically fuses with the musical staging. There are a number of actual dances that are lively and compelling, but it is the overall seamlessness of movement that keeps the audience riveted.

Music Director Harry Collins (Andrew Becker, Associate Music Director) has schooled the ensemble well and the blend of the twelve stunning voices makes for a truly exciting aural experience. The seven-piece orchestra, comprised of traditional and folk instruments, plays the score with commitment and heart, and they are rewarded for their efforts at the final bows when they emerge into view and jam for the cheering audience.

The decor by Kyle Dixon (Duck Bracey, Props) conveys a rustic flavor, using an upstage set of stairs and platforms (for the orchestra) to add depth and variety to the staging, while downstage the playing area thrusts over the covered orchestra pit to the edge of the stage, establishing immediacy with the audience.  A series of chairs and tables are configured with amazing imagination into an airplane cabin or coffee shop or one of the local shelters. Using a soft, rich palette, both the lighting by Sam Biondolilio and the carefully selected projections by Luis Garcia serve to aid in the transitions and add context.  Shannon Slaton manages the pleasingly balanced sound that blends beautifully the dozen stunning voices.

Costume Designer Jane Alois Stein achieves authenticity with contemporary simplicity and small changes in accessories, like a hat or a jacket, cleverly transform the actor into a different character. Stage Manager Amy Bertacini and which her team keep the production running with fluid grace.

The cast of COME FROM AWAY can arguably be said to be the most star-studded one ever assembled in a single show in the history of the company. Each of the twelve actors has performed leading roles here at MSMT, as well as boasting many Broadway, Off Broadway, and national tour credits. Moreover, quite a few have had the opportunity to work together before as colleagues, and this helps bring that sense of cohesiveness and camaraderie to the whole. This is a collection of triple threat forces, all endowed with lovely emotive voices and deep emotional reserves.

Cary Michele Miller is gifted with the most heart-wrenching ballad of the show in the pilot Beverly Bass’ “Me and the Sky,” which she delivers with searing intensity and vocal potency. And she is equally pert and charming as Gander native Annette.

Charis Leos portrays Beulah, the Gander woman who finds herself in charge of the relief effort, with an endearing mixture of grit and maternal caring. There is no question that she is one of the driving forces that turns this potential local disaster into a monumental triumph of compassion. Possessed of an authoritative mezzo belt, she sings straight to the heart.

As Bonnie, Carolyn Anne Miller strikes just the right tone of obsessive – but admirable - dedication to her passion for animal welfare, and she brings tears to the audience’s eyes with her empathy for Unga, the pregnant chimpanzee and the other four-footed plane creatures. Amy Bodnar makes the Texas divorcée, Diane, a gentle presence - a woman recovering from past wounds, but redeemed by the blossoming of new love.

Tara Connor Jones is a formidable Hannah, agonizing throughout the play about the fate of her firefighter son, and letting her grief spill out in a gut-wrenching soliloquy “I Am Here” in which every syllable she sings explodes with emotion. She also shares a touching moment with Kolby Kindle as the frightened wife of an African passenger comforted by a Bible verse.

Kelly Liz Bollck strikes the perfect note as Janice, the awkward, first time reporter who stumbles into the maelstrom of 9/11 at Gander, slowly gaining confidence and compassion as she copes with her role in the chaos. She also doubles expertly as a nervous, harried flight attendant

David Girolmo portrays Gander’s mayor, Claude, with fine nuance as a frustrated, small town leader, confronted by a crisis of ov,erwhelming proportions. He rises to the occasion with the help of his community to become a galvanizing force throughout the crisis. He also turns in some other finely etched cameos as the Mayor of Appleton, a Jewish man seeking his identity, and a bigoted passenger.

Tytler Hanes and Stephane Duret play the two Kevins, a gay couple from the West Coast whose relationship is tested by the tensions of the Gander experience; though they become part of the collateral damage of 9/11, they gain in self-awareness through the ordeal.  Duret is also extremely vulnerable, touching  and dignified as Ali, the Muslim marooned in the midst of this nightmare, while Hanes doubles as Gander union leader Garth. Together they add their voices to a poignant “Prayer.”

Gregg Goodbrod brings dignified reserve and vocal  authority to Nick, the Englishman whose attachment to Diane brings autumn love into a quiet life, and their duet “Stop the World” resonates with pathos and longing. Goodbrod also portrays the Gander air controller Doug, pressed into service to the animals by his wife Bonnie.

Kolby Kindle plays Bob, an African-American whose previous experiences have instilled in him a wariness of human motivation, only to find there are human beings whom he can trust. His final moments as he surveys the devastation in New York are some of the play’s most touching. He also does an amusing turn as a conceited, macho pilot.

As Oz, the good natured police officer tasked with creating order out of chaos, Peter Matthew Smith brings a folksy mix of small town common sense andnner reserves of strength, and among his other roles, he has a deeply affecting moment as a Rabbi who brings solace to a troubled townsman.

In the history of theatre, there are occasionally works, which burst onto the scene with the intensity of meteors and emblazon themselves indelibly in the consciousness and hearts of an audience. COME FROM AWAY is one such phenomenon. The little musical play, born of a small Canadian workshop and nurtured in a series of seminal NAMT productions, has gone on to take an entire generation by storm. Of course it is the power and beauty of the score, the story, and the characters, but even more than that, it is one of those works of art that holds a mirror to its audience.  September 11, one of the most devastating tragedies in modern history, has left its traumatic mark on the world. But rather than show us the destruction and cruelty, COME FROM AWAY reflects a different visage of humanity emerging from this trauma. COME FROM AWAY shows audiences that there is another more resilient, more joyful, more lasting human countenance. The reflection in the musical’s mirror is that of kindness, of human comradeship, and of the power of love over hate.

 

Photos courtesy of MSMT, Jared Morneau, photographer

COME FROM AWAY runs August 5-22, 2026 at MSMT’s Pickard Theater, 1 Bath Rd., Brunswick, ME  207-725-8769  www.msmt.org

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