Theater - The Stranger: Immediately following the terrorist attacks on 9/11, air-traffic controllers needed to clear the skies. They diverted 38 planes to Gander, Newfoundland, a small town with a large airport left over from the days when transatlantic flights were harder to make. As the planes sat on the runway for hours, it became clear that the 7,000 people onboard—people with all kinds of different backgrounds from all over the world—needed food and shelter for an undeterminable number of days.
6 comments:
To answer the question posed in the title of this article, yes, I did know this show was originated in Seattle. When I saw this show in Seattle in 2015, I saw it with my brother who has never enjoyed theatre, especially musical theatre. And after the show, my brother asked me how long this show had been on Broadway for, and I told him it hasn’t been on Broadway. His response to me was “well it should.” This show is so special that even people who don’t normally enjoy live performances can recognize the importance of the story being told and the artistic vision in the way it is being told, which is something that is mentioned in the article while talking about the fire department chief and Alhadeff’s friend from childhood. I really wish I was able to see the new version of the production at The 5th to see the differences from the first production, but my parents are seeing it and I am very excited to hear about it from them.
Come From Away is a stunning production. Its storytelling truly honors the people of Gander, Newfoundland and their incredible actions on September 11th, 2001. I first learned of this production when they performed at the Tony Awards, and by the end of their number I was in tears. I was born a year before 9/11, and have spent many hours watching footage of interviews and reading accounts and information about what happened that day. Hearing a perspective from outside New York and the Pentagon was different than anything I’d seen before. It is a way to remember the souls lost in the attacks, while also commemorating those who stepped in to help those affected by them. The rawness of human selflessness is made so apparent through Come From Away’s awe-inspiring telling of how Newfoundlanders helped the “plane people” on that horrible day. Come From Away connects with real people, real stories, and real feelings that every audience member has confronted at one point or another about the 9/11 attacks. I hope to see it in person one day, and I hope the production at 5th Avenue Theatre sees great success.
Much like Annika above I shall answer the question posed by the title, no I did not know it originated in Seattle, but I could tell the show certainly was not originated in New York or Chicago it had a distinctly West Coast feel that is hard to describe. Like Sammy I was deeply moved by the Tony performance. My favorite TV show Blue Bloods is set in New York and about a family of cops including the police commissioner and it often comes up in reflective moments of the show a question posed by Tom Selleck's Frank, "Where were you?" I was picked up early from daycare by my dad and brought home and laid on the floor in the family room as my dad watched the news. It is a question I have taken to asking many adults, everyone remembers as rightly they should. But I like most about Come From Away is that it does not tell the story from NYC or even from the towers it tells a slightly more heartwarming story from a different perspective. In this huge events, tragedies, and historical events sometimes it is the side stories or adjacent ones that are even more fascinating or interesting then the central focus, and I love telling those stories.
As an avid fan of Come From Away its seattle roots were a surprise for me, but most surprising was its sponsor, “the canadian government.” Really? The canadian government sponsored a major Broadway musical? That just makes the whole thing so much better. So much for disproving the nice and accommodating canadian stereotype the government is literally propagating the idea through a broadway musical, ya know, as you do. But in all seriousness Come From Away makes you laugh your sides out and weep in your seat and everything in between. I worry with our class being one of the last to have been alive in 2001 what will that do for the memory of the people who were affected by this tragedy in New York, the Pentagon and more indirect places such as the setting of the show in Gander, Newfoundland. This show gives young people a new story to carry with them about what is slowly going to turn into something of textbooks and movies, and that brings me some comfort.
I am currently IN LOVE with the musical Come From Away. I listen to the full soundtrack multiple times a week, and after every full listen, I find myself learning more about the events of 9/11, and often curious to do more research on individual stories of different people on that day. While I have listened to this musical many times, and done extensive research on the events it's based on, I have never actually been able to see it, nor did I know that it was originally from Seattle. I think this article is important because it points out this fact, that many of us did not know. Usually we assume that any new successful show came from Broadway, even though that's definitely not true. I think it's important to give credit where credit is due, and I think Seattle should be very proud of what they were able to bring to life.
I think that this article is interesting. Particularly because the movement of a play or musical from one theatre or city to broadway is very common and it is also very common for those locations in which the play or musical was worked on and first shown throughout its evolution to not really receive very much credit for the production. Typically the last theatre at which the theatre transferred may receive some credit or rights of refusal, but this is still not always true as it is dependent upon the contract and various agreement between theatres, corporate backers and more. It’s cool that Seattle played such a role in the production, but funny that there is a need felt to acknowledge this. Regardless though come from away has been such a beautiful production that truly helps restore some faith in humanity and what is possible when people come together to make a difference regardless of race, gender or privilege.
Post a Comment