"Newfound Friends"
Meadow Brook Theatre
Rochester, Mich.
March 23, 2026
Fans of the play “Come From Away” got a glimpse of what happened during the five days in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada after 9-11, when a small town of less than 10,000 hosted nearly 7,000 stranded strangers whose flights had been re-routed there following the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. And a packed house at Rochester’s Meadow Brook Theatre got an even deeper view into that week during “Newfound Friends,” a panel event and reception that featured four of the real people from the Gander region on whom some of the musical’s characters were based.
Moderated by Meadow Brook Theatre Artistic Director Travis Walter, the panel included former Gander Mayor Claude Elliott; Derm Flynn, the former mayor of nearby Appleton; Gander constable Oz Fudge, and Gander news reporter Brian Mosher.
The event, a fundraiser, complemented the theater’s current production of the show, which runs until April 12.
Jet-lagged, I dragged myself to the event four hours after flying home from Europe, and it was absolutely worth it. The men were endearing and funny, joking and ribbing each other as they recalled the events of that week, which were just as touching as those that made it into the show.
During the evening, we learned more of the specifics of how Gander and its surrounding communities went out of their way to take care of the diverted airline passengers, and how the community has changed since.
We learned that Elliott has seen the show 126 times now and never gets sick of it, and that the people and population haven’t changed much in the past 25 years, even though local tourism has increased.
One of the most moving stories was how one of the towns came together to support a group of terminally-ill Make a Wish children, whose birthday plans for a Disney World fairy tale party had now been canceled. Within three hours, the town threw a birthday party for the entire plane, complete with a 12-foot-sheet cake, presents and local mascots, who did their best to fill in for Mickey, Minnie and the rest of the Disney clan. Fudge shared that one of the terminal children loved the experience, and when her Dad told her they wouldn’t be going to Disney after all, she told them “It’s OK, Dad, I’ve had such a good time here. I’ve been treated so good, and it’s OK.”
Another memorable story was about a group of Americans who drove a piece of the World Trade Center to Gander for a memorial. They were accompanied from the border by a growing number of motorcycle escorts that made it into the hundreds by the time they reached Gander, joined by local fire trucks who gave them a salute as they drove in.
Toward the end, Meadow Brook hosted a surprise ceremony to initiate the group into being honorary Michiganders – not missing the “MichiGander” pun – a play on the Gander “screech” initiation ceremony showcased in the musical. In the show, several of the “Plane People” become honorary Newfoundlanders through their “Screech-in” ceremony, where they’re required to drink the local screech, kiss a cod and recite an oath. For the Michigan version, the men wore Detroit Red Wings hats, drank Vernor’s ginger ale, kissed an octopus and made their own Michigan vow before receiving honorary Michigander certificates signed by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
The evening panel ended with a Q&A session, where members of the audience – assumed to be “Come From Away” fans – eagerly competed to ask the men questions. One simply said, “You changed my life,” which brought tears to my eyes.
People love “Come From Away,” because it’s a moving story about the power of human kindness, and “Newfound Friends” was a wonderful reminder of that. With their distinct Irish-influenced accents heard in the show, the men’s stories, playfulness and reiteration of treating all people as valuable human beings, it was a heartwarming confirmation that the fictional story of “Come From Away” isn’t really fiction at all. And that makes the musical all the better and encouraging there really is hope for good in this world.
