Come From Away
By Irene Sankoff and David Hein
Broadway in Detroit, Fisher Theatre
Detroit: Through Feb. 16
National tour: Through May
The current state of our government has left millions of people distraught and fearful of our future. And if there was ever a show that could help restore our faith in humanity, it is "Come From Away," which is currently playing in Detroit on a national tour. The Tony Award-winning musical, with music, book and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, made its Broadway premiere in 2017. It takes another turning point moment in American history and shows how hope and light can be found, even in the darkest of moments.
The musical is about the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11th, 2001, when 7,000 people flying that morning were rerouted and stranded in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada for nearly a week. Amidst fear, confusion, uncertainty and cultural clashes, this tiny island town of less than 10,000 people welcomed these strangers with open arms, scrambling to find food, shelter, clothes, medication, phones and comfort to a population that nearly doubled the size of their community. The plot is an amalgamation of thousands of real-life stories that happened in that time period based on interviews conducted by its creators.
We meet the townspeople, who speak with an Irish-inflected accent, including a teacher, a cop, an animal rescuer and a TV news anchor starting her first day on the job. We meet the mayor and the air traffic controller of the now largely defunct airport – once used as a fueling pit stop – who joke that the mostly useless facility will live to see another day. All their lives are about to be rocked within a couple of hours.
Then we meet the “Plane People,” each with his or her own backstory, culture and personal struggles, doing their best to cope in a strange land. Among them are a panicked mother of an NYC fireman, an American gay couple with the same first name but very different attitudes on how to survive their circumstances, and a pilot trying to hold everything together. We meet an African couple struggling with a language barrier and a Brown Egyptian man, doing his best to help but scorned and mistrusted by the fearful around him. We watch the budding relationship between a Texas divorcee and a lonely Englishman.
The ensemble format requires each of the 12 cast members to take on multiple roles, switching between townsperson to plane person in seconds with the quick on-stage change of a hat, jacket or sweater and a new accent. While you know the actor playing a disgruntled gay New Yorker is now a fearful Middle Eastern man, or the boy-crazy townswoman is now a renowned pilot – all with fiercely different accents and mannerisms – the superb cast manages to trick your brain with ease. There’s no confusion between who is who, which is especially remarkable given the fast pace of the lyrics that demands your full attention to keep track of all the storylines. The fact that the actors interchange roles underscores the point of our shared humanity.
The lyrics are only one aspect of the music that makes it notable. The music not only tells the story but is essential in sharing and celebrating the culture of Gander. The on-stage band masterfully plays popular local instruments, including a fiddle, Irish flute, accordion and Newfoundland “ugly stick”, creating a warm, folksy, Irish jig feel that encompasses the welcoming nature of the community. You feel the joy of the music clearly felt by the musicians who play it.
One of its most moving songs is “Prayer,” which blends a Christian hymn with Jewish and Muslim prayers, conveying the shared fear and faith among people of maybe not-quite-so-different backgrounds. “Me and the Sky” is a spectacular solo sung by Kaitlyn Jackson about the real-life career of Beverley Bass, a trailblazing female pilot who was the first female captain of an American Airlines commercial plane.
While the positive themes of the show have the potential for cheese and a Disney/ "Pollyanna" feel, "Come From Away" is real. Trauma affects people differently – some for the better and some for the worse – and you feel the heartbreak, humor, fear and compassion that result from these different experiences, especially from people from different cultures.
In a society that has currently built up a strong case against the “other,” "Come From Away" is a refreshing reminder that people are people, perhaps with more in common than we realize. Maybe there is hope for the future.
