Come Away From Me

One of the most compelling feel-good shows in theater history graced the Midland Center for the Arts on Monday night, and the capacity audience awarded it a prolonged standing ovation at the end.

The musical “Come From Away” may have won only one Tony back  in 2017, but its cathartic connection to the goodness of the human soul and the events of 9/11 endures as the show continues to tour with sold out performances.

And yes, that 9/11… in 2001, when terrorists in hijacked airplanes toppled the World Trade Center in New York City and attacked the Pentagon.

“Feel good” musical about that dark day?

Yep,  because it tells the true story about the five days following that date when planes carrying 7,000 people had been diverted to and grounded at the airport in Gander, Newfoundland, as all air traffic into the U.S. ceased.

So imagine if you will this musical that tells of the compassion and camaraderie that followed in that small town of 9,000 and others nearby in the island province of Canada, referred to as The Rock. Its residents providing free shelter, food, clothes, prescriptions from pharmacists, phone banks, entertainment, listening ears and more.

Imagine 12 actors seamlessly portraying 84 characters who speak in approximately 12 to 14 accents — including the very interesting Newfoundland one.

Accompanied by a marvelous on-stage eight-piece band. Playing folk instruments like  the fiddle, mandolin, accordion, bodhran and whistles.

With a sparce set of basically chairs and tables that served as the interior of airplanes and buses, a local bar with a weird tradition, Tim Hortons, walks in the wilderness, private conversations and more.

And its serious and often hilarious dialogue culled from interviews two Canadian playwrights (Irene Sankoff and David Hein) conducted with people from the town and the “plane people.” One of the delights is the fact the local hockey rink was commandeered as a freezer for the food.

Like  “The Laramie Project,” “The Exonerated” and Midland’s own “Hometown Anonymous,” real-life journalistic storytelling, often word for word, makes for exceptional theater.

To name all 12 energetic actors and eight spirited band members would take up too much space, but to a one they were superb multi role actors, superb with accents, superb singers and superb musicians who  clicked on every cylinder possible in this 100-minute musical that does not have an intermission.

Among the “characters”  are the mayor of the town,  an Egyptian chef who very quickly becomes a person of suspicion sadly, two airline passengers who connect and eventually end up marrying, a frantic mother trying to get in touch with her firefighter son in New York City, the first female  American Airlines captain and her road to get there (her song “Me and the Sky” is the show stopper), bus drivers contending with moose on the road, exhausted shelter workers, a rules-be-damned animal lover who tended to the critters onboard the planes.

The scripting (which also includes the aftermath years) and the direction (which won the Tony)  are the hallmarks of this show along with its overwhelming message of how good we can be in a world that seems so bad.

Thank you Midland for booking this show that has long been on my bucket list. It was worth the wait.

As a final comment, it may have won only one  Tony —  losing out on six other nominations to “Dear Evan Hansen” —   but its long list of other awards include the Olivier, Drama Desk, Helen Hayes, and numerous drama critic organizations.C