Meet woman who helped inspire ‘Come From Away’ musical
A central Ohio woman who helped inspire a hit Broadway musical finally got to see it in her hometown.
“Come From Away” opened on Feb. 8 at the Ohio Theatre. Canadian composer-author-lyricists Irene Sankoff and David Hein capture the true events following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when 38 planes were diverted to Gander International Airport in Newfoundland.
Islanders cared for 6,700 grounded passengers — aka “plane people” — until they were able to able to return to their homes.
Dublin resident Shirley Brooksjones was one of those passengers, and the 85-year-old sat in the audience on opening night, watching her experience unfold onstage.
“I feel blessed,” said Brooks-jones, who contributed her story to the Tony award-winning production. “It is the most incredible musical you’ll probably ever see. You’ll be laughing your head off and then you’ll be crying. Once you leave and you start thinking about it, you’ll realize that you’ve experienced emotions you never knew you had.”
The musical wraps up Sunday with shows at 1 and 6:30 p.m. at the Ohio Theatre.
Brooks-jones has seen the show on Broadway and in other cities, and befriended cast members such as James
Earl Jones II (a distant cousin of the eponymous actor), whose character is based on her.
But Brooks-jones doesn’t mind the gender swap.
“I learned in the eighth grade about poetic license,” she said, laughing. “These actors are amazing. They had to combine so many of the stories, so each of these characters, they’re portraying a whole bunch of different people in one role, which just blows your mind.”
They also have nastered the unique Newfoundlander accent, she added.
After landing at Gander, the passengers were split among neighboring towns and villages. Brooks-jones was shuttled about 30 miles away to Lewisporte, where she stayed in a center affiliated with the Lions Club International service organization.
She started to cry, remembering how a Columbus affiliate of the organization had paid for her first pair of glasses when she was a child because her family couldn’t afford them.
“The Lions are still taking care of me,” she said at the time.
To repay the townspeople for their kindness, Brooks-jones and other passengers took pledges for a scholarship fund to support Lewisporte high school students. Today, the Columbus Foundation oversees the Lewisporte Area Flight 15 Scholarship Fund, which is in its 20th year, and has distributed 341 scholarships as of last year.
Brooks-jones has presented many of those scholarships in person.
“It’s just the most incredibly humbling experience to be there and to see the expressions in the eyes of those kids when their names are called,” she said. “The other wonderful thing is many of these kids go back to their own communities and they’re making a difference.”
The origin of the scholarship fund is a plot point in “Come From Away.”
“It is a pleasure to see Shirley’s passion and kindness come alive on stage,” said Angela Parsons, vice president for donor services at the Columbus Foundation. “You come away feeling proud of how the world joined together after that dark day. Shirley is an incredibly kind and thoughtful person who is passionate about making dreams come true for Lewisporte students, and the Foundation is proud to be home to the (fund).”
The musical also references the Columbus Zoo, and the true story of animals left in the planes’ cargo hold– including Unga, a Columbus-bound bonobo.
As Brooks-jones continues to attend the Columbus shows, she makes sure to bring her Newfoundland flag, which she waves at the end of the program.
“The kindness and the love that came out of that horrible time — I just wish that more people could have experienced what we experienced,” she said. “It’s really what this world should be. I feel I was put on that plane on that particular day to do exactly what I did. I just get energized whenever I think about all the different experiences that have come about.” ethompson@dispatch.com @miss_ethompson