WWTBAM Bored

I "discovered" the Broadway show Come From Away during previews in 2017. I just saw it a second time tonight on Apple TV, in a production recorded when they returned from pandemic in 2021.

You guys, if you started snoring when I said Broadway, come back. It's not like that.

It's an hour and 46 minutes, no intermission (though of course you can pause whenever you want on the streaming).

The music is not the classic Broadway styles; it's more of what I think of as Celtic or Gaelic or Irish. Newfoundland is this delightful mashup of cultures. And the band is right there on the stage.

There are no stars, or actors you've heard of. Jenn Colella became a little bit known from the original run (and reprises her part in this production), but this is truly an ensemble production. 12 actors play Newfoundlanders and plane people, switching hats or jackets to let you know, and a few play plane people from around the world in a couple of numbers.

I remember people asking how do you make a musical about 9-11, and the way you do it is by starting with excellent source material (a book by a Miami Herald journalist), and good-hearted people (the 9,000 Gander folks who took in 7,000 more for five days), and you focus on how fundamentally decent people are. And we celebrate that they remembered to get the pets out of the cargo holds.

I was wrong about the Herald guy’s book being the source material, but it’s a great read. Title might be The Day the World Came to Town.

IIRC, Kay’s hubby was hosted in NFLD during that time.

Come from Away is one of my favorite musicals. I saw it live when it toured, and I saw this production on Apple when it originally aired.

Q Smith is from Omaha, and my son had the chance to work with her when he was a senior in high school.

In my 28-ish years as a subscriber to the Ahmanson Theatre in L.A., this was (by far) my best, favorite surprise. Often, we go see plays with no idea what they are to be about. I prefer to be surprised rather than doing research beforehand. Of all the productions over the years (and there have been many really good ones), this one, along with "12 Angry Men" stood out to me the most.

When I started to realize it's set in Gander's airport on 9/11, I thought, "what am I in for?" Turns out it was one of my best theatre-going experiences. It's interesting that my 2 favorites have zero of the massive set changes that other productions there have had. Hell, one play, "Dead End," even had a real pool to represent the East River. "12 Angry Men" had just the jury room and "Come From Away" represented most (all?) changes just by switching hats/jackets and moving chairs around.

The Ahmanson brought it back recently, so I jumped at the chance to see it again. I still enjoyed every minute of it.

To those who are fans, the soundtrack CD is a very good way to relive the experience. As far as I know, it is complete.