imwalde: (AoGG/Carrots)
imwalde ([personal profile] imwalde) wrote2016-10-03 12:45 am

Come From Away

This weekend, I went with my mom, aunt, and cousin's wife to see a musical at Ford's Theater called Come From Away. It's about the town of Gander, Newfoundland which is where 38 planes were diverted on 9/11 when US airspace closed. Around 7000 passengers from all over the world were stranded there for days, essentially doubling the size of the town. The musical tells the story of the townsfolk and the passengers during those days.

It was stellar. It was about shared human experiences and managed to be touching and uplifting and funny and sad from one number to the next. I was afraid it would make me sob in public, but while I did cry some here and there, it is not trying to be a tearjerker. The music reminded me of Once, with its strong Irish/Celtic influence (which is apparently true to Newfoundland).

It's a real ensemble show, and everyone was great. (My fave character was the SPCA lady.) There's around a dozen people on stage at nearly all times and nearly all songs are also ensemble. The same dozen actors play many, many characters just using quick costume changes and their skill to make clear who is who.

It will make its way to Broadway, the program tells me. Highly recommended. Here's the Washington Post's review, for those interested.