By their nature, musicals aren’t ideal vehicles for telling true stories — we don’t often burst into song and rarely dance around the office.
But “Come From Away†is no ordinary musical.
And, as presented at the Lied Center for Performing Arts on Wednesday with its innovative staging and deftly constructed book and music, it touchingly tells the story of the 38 planes that were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland, on 9/11.
Running 102 minutes without intermission, the show uses tables and chairs that are quickly rearranged by the company, turning the setting from inside an airliner to inside a bar to a scenic overlook.
Similarly, the members of the company play multiple roles, switching costumes and characters from scene to scene.
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For example, when Marika Aubrey puts on her blue flight jacket and cranks up a Texas accent, she’s playing Beverley Bass, an American Airlines pilot whose story provides much of the story’s framework. When the jacket comes off, revealing a white top and vest, she’s transformed into a Ganderite, complete with Newfoundland accent.
Following the Newfoundlanders, who scramble to put together supplies and lodging for thousands of unexpected guests, and the passengers, who are largely clueless about why their flight to Dallas landed in Canada, the musical spins out multiple small stories:
Of an American woman whose son is a New York firefighter gone missing on 9/11 who is befriended by a woman from Gander; a gay couple uncertain about how they’ll be received in the tiny isolated town and of a woman from Texas and an Englishman who strike up an awkward romance during the five days they were stranded in Gander.
There are Newfoundlander tales as well — of a rookie TV reporter who’s got the only camera on the scene, striking bus drivers who give up their battle with the mayor to haul passengers around the city and the woman who is the local SPCA official who’s determined to care for the animals on the plane.
All of this is told in oft-funny fashion, with few over-the-top musical songs. Rather, the big numbers celebrate the “come from aways†becoming honorary Newfoundlanders, recount Bass’ life story and, somberly, observe that “Something’s Missing†after the passengers return home.
That all of it is very well performed was expected — the real Beverley Bass, who’s seen the show 170-plus times, told me the cast rarely makes a mistake and she was right. But its combination of humor and heart, reverence and flat-out entertainment was surprising, and made “Come From Away†pull the audience to its feet for a long, deserved ovation.
Lincoln's most requested musical acts
Green Day
Bruce Springsteen
Foo Fighters
Adele
Imagine Dragons
Jack White
Taylor Swift
Sting
Coldplay
Ellie Goulding
OneRepublic
U2
Sarah McLachlan
Tori Amos
Pink
Slayer
Reach the writer at 402-473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com. On Twitter @KentWolgamott Â
If you go
What: Come From Away.
Where: Lied Center for Performing Arts, 12th and Q streets.
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