For the writers of the hit Broadway musical Come From Away, it was a matter of honing in on the truth to do justice to the heart-warming story of thousands of stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland, Canada, that welcomed them all.
It’s been dubbed “aggressively nice” by New York Magazine, has boosted tourism in parts of Canada and even served President Justin Trudeau with a genius bit of soft diplomacy, when he took Ivanka Trump along on a date to the theatre.
Perhaps it’s a miracle that the musical Come From Away made it to Broadway at all – it’s only the fifth original Canadian musical to do so – let alone to London, Melbourne and Sydney.
But the production, based on the remarkable true story of what happened in Gander, on the remote Canadian Island of Newfoundland, when 38 planes – and their 6600 passengers and crew – were diverted there in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, became a sleeper hit from humble beginnings.
“When we first started this, we hoped that Canadian high schools would be forced to do it because it would be a historical piece and there were lots of characters that all the kids could play,” says David Hein, who co-wrote the musical with his wife, Irene Sankoff.
“Those were our big ambitions. But what we’re seeing now is that it’s a universal story.”
A dogged theatre producer, Michael Rubinoff, heard about the good people of Gander and was convinced their story should have a second life as a musical: the heartwarming tale of a town whose population increased by more than half overnight, and the locals who fed and sheltered thousands of strangers. Enduring friendships were made along the way.
The idea was passed up by five writing teams, says Hein, before he and Sankoff said yes. “We agreed that the story was great and it resonated with us emotionally,” he says.
Hein has also grown up on Newfoundland folk music, which is as rich in Celtic influence as Newfoundlanders’ discombobulating accent. Jostling fiddles and forthright rhythms abound in the musical’s contemporary folk-rock score …
“The music is in the DNA of everyone who lives [in Newfoundland], everyone plays three instruments at least. It’s how they’ve survived … because their winters are terrible. They survive by coming together as a community and staying warm.”
Hein and Sankoff interviewed hundreds of people who were on the ground in Gander during those five surreal days … The tragedy of September 11 is always looming in the background, “so you don’t need an antagonist in the story,” he says. The show’s producers, Junkyard Dog Productions and Australia’s Rodney Rigby, had a hunch the story would resonate beyond Canada and the US. They were right. After opening in London in February 2019, Come From Away went on to scoop four Olivier Awards including Best New Musical and Outstanding Achievement in Music, adding to the Tony Award it won on Broadway for Christopher Ashley’s direction.
Article written by Hannah Francis.
Come From Away – 28 March–16 April '23, Her Majesty's Theatre
Don't miss the musical sensation, coming soon to Adelaide Festival Centre.
