Come From Away is a broadway musical that came out in 2013. It won the Drama Desk
award for Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Book of a Musical. It also won the
Laurence Olivier Mastercard Award for Best New Musical and Outstanding Musical
Achievement.
Come From Away is an amazing, emotional story about how 38 planes were rerouted to
Newfoundland after 9/11. Gander, Newfoundland is a tiny town that had a big airport
used to refuel airplanes before they were able to cross the Atlantic without stopping.
Almost 7,000 people arrived, nearly doubling the population. They were kept on the
plane for 28 hours to give time to sort things out before being taken to schools,
churches, and other converted shelters in Gander and surrounding towns, where they
stayed until American airlines opened five days later.
Come From Away does an amazing job of telling this story through the eyes of several
passengers, locals, a pilot, and a news anchor. The passengers were from all over the
world, and many didn’t speak English. They found amazing ways to communicate, like
through the Bible. Almost all of the passengers had loved ones who they were worried
about or were worried about them. Hurricane Aaron hit after three days. Phones were
crowded, supplies were limited, and everyone was scared and confused. The
wonderful, dedicated locals didn’t sleep the whole time the passengers were there,
cooked for 7,000, donated clothes, and did everything they could to communicate with
and comfort the passengers.
The music is well-orchestrated and beautiful. The beat really conveys the mix of
emotions everyone feels, on edge, sad, scared, passionate. The song Darkness and
Trees conveys the fear everyone involved felt. The music is swaying and ominous,
which helps you visualize the scene of the people of Gander bringing the people on the
airplanes to their shelters. There were people from all over, including a man from the
middle east and a family from Africa. This meant that those who didn't speak English
only knew there was a problem of some kind and now they were in a school bus with
complete strangers being taken to who knows where. That’s scary. In a situation like
this our minds can’t help but be wary of stereotypes. Everyone was on edge, scared,
tired, and confused. The airplane people still have no idea what happened. The lyrics
throughout the musical and especially in this song combine everyone's different
perspectives, conveying the chaos and fear. The song Prayer shows the range of
cultures all coming together to show that everyone was unique but came together in the
face of trauma. I think that this really goes along well with what we’re facing now in
COVID-19. The story is really well-told. It’s a musical that focuses on the story, so there
are simple sets made up of chairs and tables. It’s an amazing story of a place where the
world came together.
You can listen to the whole soundtrack on Youtube, which is basically the whole story. I
highly recommend you listen to it.
Written by: Kylie Broce
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