Photo: The cast of Come From Away (credit: Matthew Murphy, 2018)
You will laugh, you will want to cry, but most of all you will be thoroughly entertained for 90-minutes straight as you relive the day that forced 38 planes loaded with passengers to land in Gander, Newfoundland, almost doubling the population of the town.
It was a scary time for most and the cast does a fantastic job of conveying the emotions of the transatlantic travellers as they sat stranded on a runway, seemingly in the middle of no where, unaware of the events that unfolded in the New York and elsewhere in the U.S. on September 11. Younger audience members will be reminded that in 2001 most average people did not own cell phones and if they did Gander likely did not have the infrastructure for them to work.
Twelve cast members and about the same number of chairs creatively move between characters and settings to tell the individual stories of locals, flight crew, and stranded passengers. The performers each juggle multiple accents while portraying their different parts but the result is a very compelling story that is full of humanity.
These are all true stories of individual whose real names are used. The effect of their time in Gander was best summed up by passenger Kevin from Los Angeles who proclaimed that annually on 9/11 he gives each of his employees the day off and $100 to go out and perform a random act of kindness.
The production leaves nothing out. There are references to Tim Horton’s, hockey, and even a ‘screetch-in’ ceremony. The feel-good evening winds up with the musicians coming out from the shadows to perform kitchen-party style to great applause from the audience.
Tickets are going fast so get yours today. If you miss the Ottawa performances the next stop is a short drive away, in Montreal.
For ticket visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/tickets or call the NAC box office at 613 947-7000 x620