"Come From Away"
Meadow Brook Theatre
Rochester, Mich.
Through April 12, 2026
I’ve seen “Come From Away” at least four times: once on Broadway, on at least two national tours – including last year – and now, at Meadow Brook Theatre’s regional production, which didn’t disappoint. The show has become a heartwarming favorite for people across the world. Meadow Brook’s production is a testament to why.
“Come From Away” recounts what happened in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, and its surrounding communities in the five days after the 9-11 terrorist attacks. The tiny community’s airport – once used as a fuel stopover during World War II – became a landing place for 38 planes that were rerouted when the airspace closed. Gander’s community of less than 10,000 people suddenly became host to nearly 7,000 strangers. It welcomed them with open arms, providing food, shelter, clothes, phones and emotional support for the subsequent five days.
Based on thousands of interviews with those involved, the musical is an amalgamation of stories that happened that week, featuring an ensemble cast of 12 performers, who switch among multiple roles.
The show is no easy feat – it’s fast-moving, with actors constantly changing clothes, accents and mannerisms to depict a variety of Ganderites and “Plane People.” The Meadow Brook cast nailed the transitions. With a simple set of chairs and a turntable stage, they were in constant motion. They reconfigured the chairs to create settings that included planes, buses, community centers, a bar, and even the local Tim Hortons, meanwhile subtly changing jackets, scarves, hats and props to convey their new characters. You consciously knew the parts were played by the same person, but the cast tricked your brain into following the multitude of storylines and settings with ease.
The music of “Come From Away” is wonderful, but not your typical musical soundtrack of hummable melodies and power ballads. Performed live on stage, it’s a driving, constantly forward-moving sound that progresses the plot with traditional Gander-area instruments – including a mandolin, whistle, bodhran and fiddle – that captures the essence of the culture, sometimes with a full-on Irish jig.
What made this production special was Monday’s “Newfound Friends,” a panel discussion hosted by Meadow Brook with four of the real Gander area people on whom some of the characters were based. While these men weren’t directly incorporated into the Meadow Brook production, hearing them share their stories and seeing their mannerisms made it clear that show creators Irene Sankoff and David Hein captured the heart and essence of the Gander culture. The extent of the human kindness and trust portrayed in the show may be unbelievable to some, but seeing these people in real life made this fictional story not so fictional, and all the more impactful.
Those who have seen “Come From Away” will relish in all the feels they remember from previous productions and those that haven’t have a funny, heartbreaking and overall heartwarming experience to look forward to.
As the lady who shouted at the stage as we were exiting said, “That was a great show!”
