Come From Away
Book, Music and Lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein
Directed by Seth Sklar-Heyn
Choreographed by Jesse Robb
The Muny
July 1, 2025
Heidi Blickenstaff (Front) and Cast
Photo by Phillip Hamer
The Muny
The world had a crisis and Gander, Newfoundland stepped up. It’s become a well-known story of September 11, 2001, as planes were grounded on the remote Canadian island and the small town and neighboring towns played hosts to approximately 7,000 displaced airline passengers and crew. Come From Away, the musical that tells Gander’s story, is a folksy, heartfelt tale with much well-place humor, celebrating hospitality, ingenuity, and humanity, as a few thousand people worked to find hope amid the heartbreaking tragedy of 9/11. Currently onstage at the Muny under the direction of Seth Sklar-Heyn, this remarkable show is being staged with heart, energy, and a stunning mixture of complexity and simplicity.
There is a fantastic cast assembled, with each performer playing a variety of roles. The cast here appears to be slightly larger than the touring cast I saw a few years ago at the Fox, but it’s not too big as to overwhelm the heartfelt simplicity of this show, with its intertwined tales based on real accounts of people who lived through those days in Gander almost a quarter century ago. The music is a mixture of folk-inspired tunes and traditional Broadway sounds, and the look is stunningly memorable, with a simple but beautifully decorated autumnal-themed set by Edward E. Haynes, Jr., memorable mood lighting by Rob Denton, excellent video design by Mike Tataj, and colorful costumes by Gail Baldoni. The orchestra led by music director Evan Roider adds a lush tone to the memorable score, and the overall local atmosphere that, despite having a host of featured characters, features Gander as the show’s real “star”.
While the overall tone is one of hospitality and hope, there is real poignancy here as well as flawed humanity on display, as strained relationships, xenophobia and distrust for a Muslim character are depicted amid the stories of the largely well-meaning Newfoundlanders working to make the most suitable temporary home for their thousands of guests. Standout subplots include SPCA worker Bonnie (Andréa Burns) trying her best to care for the various animals on the grounded planes; as well as a friendship that develops between local schoolteacher Beulah (Zoe Vonder Haar) and passenger Hannah (Tamika Lawrence), who waits for news of her NYC firefighter son. There’s also the budding attraction between the British Nick (John Bolton) and Texan Diane (Ashley Brown), the first day on the job of local TV news reporter Janice (Abigail Isom), and the story of Beverley Bass (Heidi Blickenstaff), who pilots one of the stranded planes and also gets to tell her true life story in the show-stopping “Me and the Sky”. The locals and visitors are well represented, with one of the most memorable scenes being what’s called a “Screech In” at a local bar, in which some of the “Come From Away” guests are inducted as honorary Newfoundlanders in a fun, quirky ceremony .
The cast is fantastic across the board, with standouts being those already mentioned, as well as Adam Heller as the town’s mayor, Alan H. Green as a passenger who starts out suspicious of the locals’ hospitality but grows to appreciate it, and Trey DeLuna and Jason Tam as a pair of bickering boyfriends both named Kevin. The entire cast is full of energy, telling the story in a way that credibly conveys the confusion, struggle, heartbreak, humanity, and hope in this remarkable story.
Come From Away isn’t a long show. In fact, it’s one of those rare shows that the Muny has done without an intermission. Still, it packs a lot of story, character, music, and emotion into its relatively short running time. It’s a profoundly affecting and unique piece of theatre.
Ashley Brown, Zoe Vonder Haar, John Bolton, Adam Heller
Photo by Emily Santel
The Muny
The Muny is presenting Come From Away in Forest Park until July 2, 2025