Come From Away

In general, I do not like theatrical musicals although I loved Hamilton.  I much prefer dramas when it comes to theater.  As for movies, do not like scary films, but again exceptions to the rule such as Get Out which I would actually classify as a completely different genre.

We went to see Come From Away this past week.  Not exactly sure why I bought the tickets but I did.  I got the feeling that this play has created quite an uproar among musical theater buffs because there was a huge standing room only audience in the back.  The crowd was humming and it seemed that many had been before.

The play is only 100 minutes long which I find perfect.  I don’t love the zero verbal only singing banter but what I liked about this play is the story.  It is a true story and I didn’t know about it until now.

In the very quick aftermath of 9/11, all US airways were closed.  Of course, they were but I never gave much thought to what happened to the planes that were in flight en route to the states.  I now know.  Those flights that had over 7000 passengers on them were forced to land in Newfoundland, a place which had a huge airport at one point because that is where planes used to refuel on the way to Europe.

This play is about what happened in Newfoundland when an area of fewer than 7000 people had to accommodate 7000 visitors with zero preparation.  It is an uplifting story about the human spirit.  I am quite sure that for the rest of my life, my eyes will swell up with tears around any conversation, recollection or anything around 9/11.

Didn’t love the musical aspect but the pace plays with the emotions that fly around this topic.  You got from smiling to crying to laughing.  It is a story that needed to be told and particularly today when tensions are high, it is comforting to know that at the end of the day, most people just try and do the right thing to help each other through.

Comments (Archived):

  1. awaldstein

    With your 9/11 comment I immediately thought of the relationship of art as a healing process for drama in our lives.And of course The Guys.I was living on Broome Street then and must have seen 20 playings of The Guys in a small theatre just south of Canal with a a listing of amazing actors stepping in.To me, that was community art at its best.

  2. Laura Yecies

    I really enjoyed Come From Away – agree with Jonathan that the energy in the audience at the end was amazing. Great story, good enough music, great energy (I also like the no intermission). I liked the spare set and small cast in multiple roles. One of the things that I thought was particularly important was that the cast was demographically real – not all 20 something model types but people that were different ages and types everything from physique to income – I like how real that was and it makes it easier to identify with them.

    1. Gotham Gal

      totally agree. love no intermission. the cast was such a mix of people and that was certainly refreshing.

  3. Robin Bobbe

    As an ex-actress with an aversion to musical theater, this is why I wanted to act in the first place. Theater at its finest. I only hope I can still get a ticket after a review like that!

  4. AMT Editorial Staff

    Great info GG. 100 minutes is the key factor for me…Loved Rent. Haven’t had the opportunity for Hamilton. Likes Tommy. Fell asleep in Chicago. Book of Mormon was decent…Avenue Q was fun…