The cosy glow of kindness isn’t a fashionable subject in theatre. But this folksy Canadian musical by Irene Sankoff and David Hein makes no apology for its affirmative message, telling the true and touching story of how the Newfoundland town of Gander embraced 7,000 strangers after their planes were diverted there amid the chaos of 9/11.
In Christopher Ashley’s nimble production, a cast of 12 switch between playing the locals and the stranded travellers who have — in Newfoundland parlance — “come from away”. It’s an approach that heightens the sense of the groups happily merging, and the songs, mostly choral and propulsive, have a crowd-pleasing warmth as well as a Celtic accent (think pipes, fiddle and drum).
Among the characters who make the keenest impression are a gauche British oilman (Robert Hands), a gay couple who bicker entertainingly, a woman (the moving Cat Simmons) fretting about her son fighting fires in Manhattan, and an Egyptian chef who’s bemused by local enthusiasm for cod recipes. The show’s biggest number is sold with gusto by Rachel Tucker, as a veteran pilot who’s blazed a trail for women’s rights. Yet, as befits a hymn to the power of community, this is an ensemble piece.
For all its craft, there are moments when Come From Away feels like an advertisement for Canadian decency and its capacity to improve the lives of malcontent Americans. It also says little — perhaps too little — about the tragic events that convulsed New York on and after 9/11. But in the end its defining features are charm, energy and a real generosity of spirit, and audiences are left with a nagging question: in a situation like the one the people of Gander faced, would we do the same?
Until September 14
