On Sept. 11, 2001, the tiny Newfoundland town of Gander (population roughly 10,000) nearly doubled in a matter of moments. Among the thousands of planes ordered to land in the wake of the attacks in New York City, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., were 38 commercial jets ordered to land in Gander, at a long-unused airport slated for demolition.
The 6,600-plus plane passengers were a mix of all ages hailing from 100, including 60 children on a Children’s Wish Foundation journey to Disneyland, and 19 animals, including a pregnant bonobo. Gander suddenly found itself having to supply the stranded passengers with food, shelter, clothing and everything from baby formula to prescription drug renewals to cat food — all for an indefinite period of time on an isolated island in the far northern climes.
Ganderians more than rose to the occasion. Their radical hospitality inspired “Come From Away,” running through Oct. 12 in an exhilarating production at Aurora’s Paramount Theatre.
Composer/lyricists Irene Sankoff and David Hein have penned a musical with a pleasing score and a feel-good story that truly celebrates the power of compassion and fundamental human decency. And while that sounds dangerously close to inspirational-poster pablum, director Trent Stork makes Paramount’s production feel real and raw and sound glorious.
Stork’s 18-strong ensemble is mostly double (sometimes triple) cast as locals and “plane people,” as the Gander residents come to call them. That there’s never any confusion as to who’s who at any given time speaks to the prowess of this ensemble, which delivers comedy to raucously fine effect, and tragedy with blunt, sobering sadness.
The opening number, “Welcome to the Rock” thumps with regional pride as the people of Gander introduce their home. It’s a place “where winters tried to kill us,” they sing with a laconic shrug. The subtext is clear: Ganderians have dealt with lethal floods and storms and cold and geographic isolation all their lives. They can cope with 38 planes. The ensemble makes the heavily percussive piece flow through the jouncing rhythm.
There’s a lot of exposition deftly packed into the lyrics, which cover both the events of 9/11 and introduce a crowd of both locals and stranded passengers, all based on real people.
Andrea Prestinario (center front) stars as Beverley, the first female captain for American Airlines, forced to divert her flight to Gander, Newfoundland, on the morning of 9/11. (Standing on chairs, from left) Soara-Joye Ross, Sara Reinecke and Abby C. Smith are her flight attendant chorus. (Seated, from left) Russell Konstans and Zak Berger also play multiple roles.
Brett Beiner
Beverley Bass (Andrea Prestinario) is the captain, an aviator who became the first female captain at American Airlines in 1986 at age 34. Her passengers include Hannah (Soara-Joye Ross), who is desperate to reach her son, a firefighter in New York City; Diane (Susie McMonagle), a gregarious Texan; and Nick (Ron E. Rains), a quiet man of few words and big emotions.
There’s also Gander’s hardworking, can-do mayor Claude (Russell Konstans); Bonnie (Michelle Duffy), a ferociously committed SPCA member; and Ali (Adam Qutaishat), a Muslim man profiled and subjected to a humiliating search and interrogation from various security forces.
The characters are all beautifully etched, especially Konstans’ matter-of-fact mobilization of the town and Ross as an anguished mother desperate for news of her son.
There’s no lead per se in “Come from Away,” but the production’s show-stopping moment invariably comes when Prestinario’s Bass launches into “Me and the Sky,” a song that requires massive change in vocal altitude, starting subdued, raising the rafters and closing with an abrupt, gut-punching finish. Prestinario hits the stratosphere, telling an epic story in a song with an epic sweep.
(From left) Soara-Joye Ross, Sevon Askew and Zak Berger star in “Come From Away.” The Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of the thousands of passengers who were diverted on Sept. 11, 2001, to Gander, Newfoundland. Ganderians more than rose to the occasion and their radical hospitality inspired the musical.
Brett Beiner
The ensemble knocks it out of the park with “38 Planes,” a haunting elegy to the tragedies of 9/11 and “Prayer,” which has the cast praying to deities in Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic and English, their voices weaving a glimmering mesh of harmonies. And as vocals go, do not overlook Abby C. Smith’s truncated, passionate and hilarious rendition of about 15 seconds worth of “My Heart Will Go On,” every note dripping titanic vocal power.
Music director/conductor Kory Danielson and his orchestra capture the wild, rugged spirit of Gander via fiddle, harmonium, whistles and Bodhran drums, heightening the atmosphere and deepening the characters. Scenic designer Milo Bue makes the most of Paramount’s cavernous space, framing the stage with massive arches of tree rings (projections by Mike Tutaj) that emphasize Newfoundland’s vast forestation.
“Come From Away” is slashed through with tragedy, but the musical is also the theater equivalent of comfort food. That’s a commodity that seems to grow more precious with every passing day.