Rock Island’s Circa ’21 Opens QC Theater Premiere of 9/11 Musical, “Come From Away”
If there was ever a time for a feel-good, warm-hearted musical in today’s deeply polarized, violent society, today would seem to be the time. As the classic 1965 Burt Bacharach-Hal David song dreams, “What The World Needs Now Is Love.”
And that’s what the new show at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, 2017’s “Come From Away,” provides in real-life abundance. A seven-time Tony nominee that won for Christopher Ashley’s direction, “Come From Away” chronicles the true experiences of the people of Gander, Newfoundland, and the nearly 7,000 airline passengers who were forced to land there (from 38 flights) when U.S. air space was closed after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Twelve actors tell the story of both the Islanders and what become known as the Plane People (totaling 40-plus characters), revealing the fear and uncertainty that came with the attacks (the result of four hijacked airplanes) – as well as the profound generosity and compassion of strangers.
A scene from “Come From Away,” which is the true story of 38 flights forced to land in Newfoundland, with nearly 7,000 passengers on Sept. 11, 2001.
While some characters and stories are an amalgamation of several people and experiences, others are grounded in real-life individuals, such as Captain Beverly Bass, the first female captain for American Airlines; Kevin Tuerff and Kevin Jung; a couple from Los Angeles and Nick and Diane, who first met in Gander and went on to fall in love.
With its book, music, and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, the folk-infused “Come From Away” score blends both traditional musical-theatre styles, as well as traditional Newfoundland orchestrations. Meanwhile, along with acting out the events of the narrative’s four days, the show’s characters step out from the story to narrate the events, and the staging is intentionally minimalist, making innovative use of only a few tables and 12 chairs to represent airplanes, buses, and various locations within Gander.
A 2019 review in The Guardian called the show “a celebration of the power of community.”
“Canadian husband-and-wife team David Hein and Irene Sankoff (who co-wrote the book, music and lyrics) turn this premise into a hugely entertaining musical by giving the ancient notion of the chorus – a group of ordinary people commenting on events – a contemporary spin,” the review said. “The cast of 12 don’t simply represent a community: as they enact the stories of the island and its unexpected visitors, they are a community.”
“Come From Away” is making its QC theater premiere at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, Rock Island.
Directing the current “Come From Away” production is longtime Circa ’21 veteran M. Seth Reines, whose most recent productions for the theater have included “Clue: The Musical”, “Kinky Boots” and “Singin’ in the Rain.” Area favorite Ron May serves as music director and Reines’ cast — all of whom enact numerous roles, features Bobby Becher, Hanna Marie Felver, Sarah Hayes, Gregory Naman, Sydney Richardson, Tristan Tapscott, Renée Elizabeth Turner, Stephen Charles Turner, Kimberly Vanderginst, Shelley Walljasper, Tom Walljasper and Tariq Woods.
“It’s unlike shows anyone has ever done, just the way the music is integrated into everything and how quickly the different stories are woven together, the way it moves,” Becher (who saw the original Broadway production) said recently.
“The show is structured to show the chaos of that experience,” said Hayes, who plays the American Airlines pilot Beverly Bass. “It moves so fast, you don’t have time to breathe, and neither did everyone taking care of everyone during that week, or anyone being taken care of.”
“You get to see 12 individuals in various degrees of that chaos — seeing people being in complete control one moment, and then completely out of control, the same person,” Becher said. “I think it gives a lot of perspective to people, in how one person can be feeling so many different things, even if they’re not literally the same person in the context of the story.”
For Hayes, the most difficult part has been speaking in distinct dialects, as a Newfoundlander and the Southern pilot. The different characters are reflected by changes in voice, costume, and lighting.
“I had no problem when I saw it, so I hope that’s true for our audience,” she said of keeping track of characters.
A scene from “Come From Away,” which is running at Circa ’21 through Nov. 1.
“It’s written in such a way that it eases you into the chaos, and changing of characters and personalities,” Becher said, noting it’s a challenge for the actors to embody multiple roles, often very briefly.
The show has most all the cast on stage all the time, even in solo numbers, Becher said. Hayes plays Beverly the majority of the time, and Becher is many parts, while there are four main Newfoundlanders and four main passengers that are highlighted throughout.
Beverly Bass was the first female captain of an American Airlines plane. “Because of her position, everyone handles grief and tragedy differently,” Hayes said. “Because her job is one of the ones who holds everything together, and is focused on — this is what I’m here for. I have to take care of my passengers, take care of my crew, and that’s what I’m here for. I think that helps her through the difficult times.”
Her flight was going from Paris to Dallas on Sept.11, and the Newfoundland airport was a standard refueling spot for trans-Atlantic flights, Becher said.
Real-life stories
The cast was fortunate enough to meet a real passenger from that experience who lives in East Moline. On 9/11, she was on a flight from London to St. Louis, and was surprised to be landing in Newfoundland.
“Most people were caught in this half-way point,” Becher said.
“She said the U.S. airspace, no planes could land there, and European cities were not allowing them to come back,” Hayes said. “If Newfoundland hadn’t let them land, she said, we might be in the bottom of the ocean. That just gave me chills.”
The population of Gander at the time was about 9,000, and the planes almost doubled its population.
Most characters in the show give monologues to tell the narrative of the story.
The cast of “Come From Away” consists of 12 actors each playing multiple roles.
“The show is well-crafted in such a way that you get to see what people’s roles were in that moment, and what they were passionate about,” Becher said of the variety of characters. One was a mother of a firefighter from New York who was focused on the response to the World Trade Center attacks.
“You see different reactions from different people who may have one singular focus on that day, gives the audience something specific to latch on to,” he said. “That really puts it into a whole new set of perspectives.”
Beverly knew what had happened with the plane hijackings, but she didn’t relate anything specific to her passengers, other than there was an incident that forced other planes to land, Hayes said. “Some shared it in the air, which caused chaos on the planes, and some waited. Of course, all the flight attendants and pilots knew. I think about the flight attendants who were told not to say anything.”
Passengers represent people from Canada, the U.S., England, Egypt and Africa. “It is all actual things that happened to people,” he said.
“It highlights how in the worst times, humans showed the best of themselves,” Hayes said of the show’s message of compassion and generosity. “How to cross those divides — whether it’s language, ethnicity, religion. The hope that people come away from it is a more open mind, to reach across those divides.”
Becher said times of crisis like this provide people opportunities to be generous and caring, the kind of person who sees humanity in others.
“You get to the opportunity to do what you want to be able to do,” he said.
Townspeople also invited passengers to stay at their homes and asked for nothing in return. That happened to the local woman (traveling with her husband) who spoke to the cast, Becher said.
Music flows throughout
Almost the entire 100-minute show is underscored with music, which reflects specific characteristics of the people, he noted. “When you’re meeting a character from Egypt for example, you hear a change in the music. Everything about it is taking you on the emotional ride, the narrative of the story,” Becher said. “It is really well-crated to help you along and understand, now the mood is changing. We hope that we have set it up for the audience to stay with us.”
Instances of racism and xenophobia are also reflected in the story. It’s deeply meaningful for Circa to be putting on the local area premiere of the show (which has been presented in an Adler Theatre touring production), around the 24th anniversary of Sept. 11.
Hayes said she teared up after the first preview on Wednesday night, Sept. 10. “I think it just sort of hit me, because you’re focused on getting the show together, and telling the story, and then it hit me,” she said. “It’s an honor to be able to share this story on this day. I remember where I was; everyone remembers.”
Bobby Becher, far right, in a scene from the musical “Come From Away.”:
On 9/11, Hayes was a 19-year-old community college student in Arizona, and the attacks happened before she woke up for the day. “I was instant messaging with a friend,” she recalled. “Have you not heard, he said. I said, what? He said turn on the news, and I said, what channel? He said, any channel. I turned it on and I couldn’t comprehend it and wrap my brain around it.”
Becher was going into his 7th grade history class in Alabama and they were watching it on TV. He lived near the Redstone Arsenal, outside Huntsville, Ala., and they were afraid they could be a terrorist target also. “That fear starts to creep in and you start imagining the worst,” he recalled. “How is this going continue to escalate? And where do we fall on this, and what’s gonna happen to me?”
The musical honors the legacy of the town’s response to this immense tragedy. Hayes is thrilled to be part of this special show, whether it’s an area premiere or not.
“It has a special place in my heart,” she said. “Just getting to do this show, and honoring the people it’s about. It’s a little added pressure, but it’s such an honor that it makes you want to have the whole cast come together and tell this story as honestly as possible.”
“We’re getting to do this before anyone else around here gets to do it, but we’re playing real people,” Becher said. “It’s not like we are creating a character.”
“For this, the ensemble and the piece as a whole is more important than any individual actor,” he said. “It’s the way we are doing it together, for these people and by these people, I think is the real kind of honor and opportunity.”
Reines, the director, sometimes told cast members to “stop acting,” and Hayes loved that. “At the end of the day, it’s just communicating this story as honestly as possible,” she said.
“Particularly for this show, because of the style of it, and it’s based on true people, he wanted to highlight even more, just the stripping away of it all and connecting with the audience,” Hayes said, noting many actors speak directly to the audience, which she called “actor 13.”
Sometimes a monologue is speaking to hundreds of people at a school gym.
Becher said while much of the story is solemn, he gets to play some funny characters.
Sarah Hayes (front) plays real American Airlines pilot Beverly Bass in “Come From Away.”
“I am one of the lucky ones, who gets to pop in with silly moments,” he said. “There is a fair amount of levity in the storytelling as well, so I feel fortunate to get to be able to hit both sides of that (serious and not) to certain degrees.”
While the original production had a small on-stage band, the Circa production uses polished, pre-recorded music, Becher said. “Just like the audience is a member of our company, our technicians are members of the company as well. They have to be just as on as us — to keep the music moving along with us, to keep the microphones in and out and keep the lights, which are another character, to complete the whole experience.”
The show will go on at Circa ’21 (1828 3rd Ave., Rock Island) through Nov. 1, with performances on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 5:30 p.m., and Wednesday matinées at 1:15 p.m. Pre-show entertainment featuring the theater’s waitstaff the Bootleggers will also precede all performances. Ticket prices are $68 for the Friday-through-Sunday dinner-and-show productions and $61 for all Wednesday performances.
Reservations are available through the Circa ’21 ticket office, by calling 309-786-7733 ext. 2, or online at www.circa21.com.
