Come from Away
A heartwarming true story forms the backbone for this hit Broadway musical about a community coming together after 9/11.
EVERY TIME THERE’S a massive tragedy, stories of humans responding to extreme circumstances flow thick and fast. Some are horrifying, but others are affirming. One of those affirming stories unfolded in Gander, Newfoundland in the days after the September 11 attacks. The punishingly cold Canadian town had a population of around 9,000 at the time, but when planes were suddenly diverted to the town’s airport following the attacks, 7,000 travellers found themselves stranded for up to six days. But instead of reacting to those strangers with fear or suspicion the locals warmly embraced them and welcomed them into their homes. Canadian musical theatre writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein were intrigued by this story and in 2011 – on the tenth anniversary of the attacks – visited Gander to interview both locals and returning passengers about their experiences. “We didn’t know what we were looking for when we went out there,” Sankoff says. “We just started talking to people, going to their houses for dinner, and getting invited to spend the night there. We fell in love with them and what they did; and how brave it was to not keep 7,000 people trapped on planes, hungry, angry and scared – to bring them off the planes and into their community and buildings.”
The husband and wife pair then started crafting those stories into a musical. And unlike many musicals based on real events – which can play fast and loose with the facts – Sankoff and Hein wanted to make the truth as compelling as possible. As a result, the first draft was more than five hours long, but after whittling those stories down they premiered the musical in 2012 at an Ontario college.
“We were pretty sure we’d have a good future with high schools and colleges being forced to do it, because of the Canadian content,” Sankoff says. Neither expected that the show – which spoke to a pivotal New York story from a different perspective – would go on to have a Broadway season in 2017, let alone London and Melbourne seasons. In October 2018 it surpassed The Drowsy Chaperone to become Broadway’s longest-running Canadian show, and it’s still going strong. Beverley Bass, who was the first female captain of an American Airlines plane and whose plane was rerouted to Gander, has come to see the show more than 100 times and became friends with Jenn Colella, who plays her on Broadway.
“It’s such a unique gift, as playwrights, to have the characters in your show come to your show, and also cheer you on on social media, and write to you, and write to the actors,” Hein says. The Melbourne cast, who were announced in November last year, have already received letters from the real-life people they are portraying.
The piece itself, which reminds of the importance of welcoming outsiders and giving to people in need, has taken on new resonances in the age of Brexit, Trump and Australia’s own border policies. “We didn’t have a crystal ball, and we couldn’t have known,” Sankoff says. “We really thought we were writing about something that happened a long time ago, that we thought had more or less resolved by now – which was naive and not quite the case.” Comedy Theatre, 240 Exhibition St, Melbourne 3000. 1300 111 011. comefromaway.com.au. $55-$150. Jul 3-Sep 29.
Seven thousand travellers were stranded for six days