Come From Away

Come from away tells the true story of the town of Gander, newfoundland, and the nearly 7,000 airline passengers who were forced to land there when US airspace was closed on September 11th, 2001. The musical catches the fear and uncertainty of the passengers, dubbed come from aways as they learn about the attacks and are unsure of when they’ll be able to go home. It also introduces the residents of Gander and neighbouring communities grappling with the logistics of accommodating thousands of unexpected guests. The heart of the story lies in the extraordinary generosity of the people of Gander and neighbouring towns. They opened their homes, schools and community centres to shelter, feed and support the stranded travellers. Over the next few days, deep bonds formed between the locals and the come from aways. The story highlights various true stories of connection, cultural exchange, and shared humanity amidst the global tragedy.

The Full cast of this show were excellent, and I am not going to single anybody out because they all played their parts with such conviction, humour and brilliant vocals so I will list the whole cast (13 of them) who were on stage with some of them playing more than one part.

Jasmin Smith: Beverley, Annette & Reporter

Natasha McKenzie: Beluah, Delores

Andrew McMinn: Kevin T, Garth & President Bush

Andrew White: Kevin J, Dwight & Ali

Philippa McMinn: Janice, Britney & Flight attendant

Chloe Woodward: Bonnie, Martha

Amy King: Diane, Crystal & Brenda

Kimberley Brough: Hannah, Margie & Mickey

Graham Hawley: Claude, Derm, Brenda’s Brother & Eddie

Tom Hawley: Joey, Custom Officer, Mr Micheals, Terry, Matty & Head cardiologist.

Mark Stilwell: Doug, Officer Stephenson, & Male Townsperson

Harry Basnett: Bob, Muhumuza, & Captain Bristol

Tony McGee: Oz, Rabbi.

This has got to be one of the best ensembles I have ever seen, and I was amazed at how much could be done with tables and chairs going from a plane, to a bus, then café’s etc. the timing of all this was fast paced and the ensemble got it all perfectly.

Tony McGee who directed this show must have had some sleepless nights thinking and plotting on how to put all of this together, but I must congratulate you as you really pulled this show off. The full cast took every bit of direction from you and they nailed it. Not an easy show to do and with no interval the show needed to keep the audience, and this was exactly what you done. A fully rewarded standing ovation by the audience tells you how good the show was.

Musical Director Liz Condron also done an excellent job as the songs were not the easiest to sing so a lot of hard work must have gone into this, I really enjoyed the orchestra being on either side of the stage so well done to you all.

Everything went so well on the night from Lights to sound and I particularly liked the live reporter links on the TV screen.

It just leaves me to say well done to all the cast you put on an excellent show and one I will remember for a long time.

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