Musical review: Come From Away
“Come From Away” has been a smashing hit on Broadway since its release on March. 12, 2017. According to the New York Times its a “big bearhug of a musical” and “allows you to make that move [to Canada] for an eventful 100 minutes.”
“Come From Away” is a musical based in a tiny town called Gander in Newfoundland, Canada. The musical tells the stories of the townies and the 6,700 passengers stranded in Gander because of the tragic events that took place on Sept. 11, 2001. The show will make you laugh, cry, and smile.
I believe that the show really does transport you. You feel the pain and passion as an audience member, but I know the feelings aren’t the same compared to what Americans actually felt on that day. The show really restores your faith in humanity as when we are in a crisis everyone leaves behind their differences to help one another.
Another audience member said, “It was stunning. I felt like I was back on that day watching the news with them… I saw the buildings fall in my head. It broke my heart.”
The show is highly recommended; the story is rich and an important one to tell, though it is definitely not family friendly because of the crude humor, language and brief moments of nudity.
If you see this show, I highly recommend that you go to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Experiencing both makes the story that much better. The museum puts the events of that day and the following weeks into perspective; I never knew how much chaos this event actually caused until I went to the museum.
One of the songs that stands out in particular was “38 Planes.” The song is about the sheer amount of planes and people that showed up in Newfoundland. The cast uses chairs to recreate a plane on stage. Throughout the song the cast switched from plane passengers to townies and back again.
The set is very minimal. The background is just shiplapped wood and the cast use pieces of clothing to change their character. There are props that move around the whole show to change locations. My favorite prop was the light up Tim Hortons sign.
Come From Away's minimal set.