- COME FROM AWAY
- Starlight Theater – Kansas City, Missouri
- August 6, 2024
In “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Blanche Dubois famously stated, “ I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” Now imagine there are 7,000 Blanche’s in a small Newfoundland town and you have the Tony nominated musical “Come From Away.”
Gander. A small town whose airport was once one of the world’s busiest. However, with the invention of newer and longer distance planes, it’s usually pretty quiet on Tuesday afternoons. But today, September 11, 2001, is not an ordinary Tuesday. Following the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, the government has closed all airspace. My current job at the time required me to drive directly past Kansas City International Airport and I remember thinking to myself how odd it was not to see, or hear, a plane taking off or landing overhead. Over two dozen planes are diverted to Gander and, curing the course of the show, we meet the passengers and the townspeople on whose kindness they will depend.
Nominated for seven Tony awards, “Come From Away” is an uplifting story about the human spirit and the ability for strangers to come together. We are introduced to several of the townspeople, including the Mayor, a worker at the local animal shelter and a news reporter on her first day on the job. It’s business as usual until news comes of the day’s tragedy. As if a switch has been flicked, problems that may have seemed major only hours earlier – school is about to start and the bus drivers are on strike – pale in comparison to how to feed, house and clothe 7,000 people. The passengers are an eclectic mix – a British businessman, an experienced pilot and a gay couple, both oddly named Kevin, are among the stranded, doing their best to stay sane while basically unsure as to what has happened. Once the word gets around, a lot of eyes are turned towards a passenger from the Middle East, and not sympathetically. As the days begin to build up we learn their back stories and, for some, their futures.
I had the great fortune of catching this show on Broadway in September 2021, right after the 20th Anniversary of 9/11. It was the time of COVID and it was eerie to stand in line, wearing a mask, waiting to show your vaccination card before you get go into the theater. But the show was amazing, as is this production.
The cast is outstanding. Many of the featured players portray more than one character, with only a slight change or clothing or location to help you differentiate them. That there was never a false moment in the show, or a “hey, that’s the guy that played Bubba” moment is a true testament to the talents of the cast.
The book is very well written, with humor added when needed, never gratuitously. Even in song the events of the day are treated respectfully. The big difference between Broadway and this production is that there is no intermission. Also, after the curtain call the audience was introduced to Kevin Tuerff, one of the real life “Kevins” featured in the show, who speaks to the audience and takes questions promoting his PayItForward 9.11 foundation.
Up against the juggernaut that was “Dear Evan Hansen,” the only Tony award “Come From Away” won was for it’s direction. Almost a decade later, “Come From Away” continues to resonate with audiences while “Dear Evan Hansen” has gone the way of many similar shows that caught fire then slowly faded. This is a show that not only entertains but informs. Don’t miss it.
On a scale of zero to five I give “Come From Away” ★★★★★
For more information on the PayItForward 9.11 foundation, click HERE.
“Come From Away” continues at the Starlight Theater in Kansas City through Sunday, August 11th. For tickets to this engagement or future shows please click HERE.