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Emotionally thrilling—in the right dosage. Come from Away is a musical that has left audiences from Canada, Broadway and Abbey Theatre speechless and here is why:
Come from Away, written and composed by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, is based on the real tragedy of 9/11 attacks. Approximately 38 planes with 7,000 passengers were stranded on a small island, Newfoundland, and its citizens went beyond the definition of the ‘impossible’ to help the passengers. Newfoundlanders barely had the resources to help such a large amount of people, considering that the entire island is made up of a mere 7,000 habitants. Yet, as seen in this stage dramatisation, they offered food, clothes, hospital, school halls for accommodation, , and they asked for nothing in return for helping people from different parts of the world —apart from a comical section of the play, whereby they were asked to clean the toilets, which was an enjoyable change to the more serious tones.
In essence, this musical has been a great success because it reflects our contemporary reality globally. Besides, it highlights the goodness of humankind which has, at times, been forgotten about We are living in an era when millions of people, including refugees, emigrate to different countries seeking better opportunities and unfortunately, may be cruelly mistreated due to their origins, faith and so on. Even in everyday life, people tend to be more egoistic towards one another and that is one of the main reasons why this musical has positively marked every single person in the audience. It certainly leaves spectators with the joyful hope that better days will come when every single individual starts being kind. To achieve collective kindness, one must be kind. As David Shannon, acting Kevin T in the musical, said in a prior interview with Tn2 Magazine, ‘you know, it could be anything, just paying things forward a little bit, I think that will come with me when I leave the show.’ Surely, that was one of the beautiful messages that the show has taught the audience members, who had experienced catharsis and hopefully, will be mimetically applying the artistic messages in real life.
Come from Away is an ensemble production with twelve actors performing the various passengers and crew members.During research, the performers of this production had the opportunity to have conversations with the real people involved in the 9/11 incident. It is a musically-driven plot which captivates the public entirely for approximately two hours.The show portrays differences in cultures, religions, ethnicities, sexualities, and class, building towards a moment where everyone is joyfully and spiritually connected through the medium of music and kindness in this time of chaos. All the characters pass through intense human emotions: some of them fall in love, or learn of the death of a loved one. But no matter what happens, there is this incredible sense of togetherness amongst them.
The set design is by Beowulf Boritt, which is not extravagantly different to most staged musicals; it is minimalist, with the use of simple wooden furniture, of chairs and trees. The simplistic mise-en-scène allows the heavenly voices to shine by themselves. The costume design, by Toni-Leslie James, is also quite minimalist, depicting what people would normally wear in everyday life. Because of its themes and design, this production encourages the spectators to identify themselves with the performers. Whilst also admiring the beautiful and simple moments of life in times of chaos. Come from Away is a musical about a small utopian island of pure kindness, that the world should use as an inspiration to reconstitute the beautiful essence of the human spirit.
