Trending
A few years ago, I saw the Broadway production of "Come From Away." The much-loved musical play tells the story of what happened in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland on that most tragic of days, September 11, 2001.
Almost immediately after the tragedies, American airspace was closed and Canadian airports were inundated with flights from all over the world. More than 250 aircraft carrying 43,895 passengers were diverted across Canada to Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Halifax, and ten more cities. Little Gander was, for many decades, the refueling stop for European-bound flights before the larger-sized jets arrived. Along with its military usage, the small town possessed some of the longest runways in North America. Gander received 38 airplanes that deposited 6595 passengers and crew on the unsuspecting townfolks – barely 10,000 of them.
Gander's heart-warming story about how they coped with and served their unexpected visitors is now legend. The world learned of their generosity from movies, television, newspapers, magazines, and in 2017 by the musical "Come From Away." The townspeople of Gander welcomed the stranded passengers, many of whom initially spent more than a whole day on their aircraft. They bedded down those exhausted refugees in their schools, churches, and their own spare bedrooms. They opened their showers to strangers while charging their cell phones. They made coffee round the clock while baking casseroles, cakes, and thousands of cookies. They supplied diapers and baby formula, toothpaste and deodorant, and gave them their own clothes. They called druggists across the USA to renew prescriptions. And they found, fed, and calmed the terrified pets in the baggage holds of the airplanes. The need was so enormous that supermarkets and drugstores finally told the townspeople, "Take what you need."
Seeing the play in 2019 was such a profound experience that I said to my BFF, my decades-long theater buddy, "I'd see that again in a heartbeat." I got the chance last weekend. It was wonderful - for many reasons.
For 11 years, I was the Executive Director of the historic 1883 Struthers Library Theatre in Warren. Our stage was busy. We hosted the Warren Players, the cover bands of Yankee Bush Productions, and many nationally known celebrities, with emphasis on country music's mega-stars. The theater's academy students presented shows in the spring and at Christmas, and movies were showcased year-round. The stage was the site of weddings, membership parties, and rehearsals, rehearsals, rehearsals. But last weekend was different.
"Come From Away" was the first production staged by the theater administration in 20 years. And they knocked it out of the park.
The cast of 12 included many local stage veterans, and both the theater's Executive Director and the Artistic Director. The talented amateurs tackled the physically demanding script beginning rehearsals in early July. Everyone played multiple parts, all of which required singing. Their voices were truly exceptional. I didn't realize until the middle of the show that the music was not a soundtrack - it came from the live musicians hidden in the wings on stage. When the show was over, I found it hard to believe that what I had just seen was not professional. I felt the tingling vibrancy of the authentic Newfoundland folk music moving the hard-to-even-imagine story. But my heart, my tummy, and my head were all involved. I simultaneously felt the script's joy and warmth alongside its poignancy and loss. It's not a theater-going experience that you merely walk away from. For me, three days later, "Come From Away" hasn't gone away.
The stage set was simple - stacked wooden pallets donated mostly by United Refinery. Each pallet, hand-signed by cast, crew and volunteers, bore messages of remembrance and hope. But most importantly, the name of every victim who died on 9/11 was written on those wood slats and shared the stage during the performance.
I read somewhere last week that more than 1,250 theatres were presenting "Come From Away" this fall, the 25th anniversary of our national heartbreak. I honestly don't see this play disappearing anytime soon. Its significance, its downhome reality, its very real take on the kindness of people to total strangers in a time of crisis is an international message - well told..
If you missed this emotional experience, you have another chance. JCC is producing it from Nov. 6 to 15. The play's bittersweet but ultimately joyful message will be just as meaningful as we approach Thanksgiving,
We can never forget you, Gander. Thank you.
Reach Marcy O'Brien at moby.32@hotmail.com.