Directed by Leigh Steiner, Come From Away is a stunning and relentless, 100-minute spectacle that gives audiences no intermission — and no emotional reprieve. The production recounts the true story of the thousands of stranded airline passengers diverted to Gander, Newfoundland on 9/11— delivering a portrait of heroic hospitality that will leave even the most hardened cynic misty-eyed. Rather than fixating on ground zero, the show focuses on cultural heritage and how a remote community opened its doors and heart to traumatized foreign persons.
“It calls on us as a community to welcome a stranger, to be there when people are in crisis and to give of ourselves,” Steiner said. “I think that’s what is so powerful about this story.”
Through rapid-fire character vignettes, and Paul Presney Jr.’s thoughtfully stripped-down set with evocative lighting designed by Matt Albrecht, audiences are pulled into the disorienting days following Sept. 11, 2001. A versatile ensemble of 12 all play multiple roles, executing mid-scene changes with little more the shrug of a coat and an impressive command of global dialects. They adeptly cycle between airline travelers from all over the world and the warm, unflappable Gander locals who welcomed them in.
Among this chameleon-like cast, Jordan DePatis delivers standout work, lending distinct dialect nuance, physical specificity and sharp comedic timing to eight separate roles. It is a dexterity he has spent time honing.
“I played nine characters in Little Shop of Horrors last year, so I worked hard on their voices and mannerisms and applied that here,” said DePatis.
Unlike some period pieces that risk datedness, Come From Away still has pulsing relevance— particularly against the backdrop of the currently strained U.S.-Canada relations with the ongoing trade war. Within that ideological framework, Mary Kate Smith delivers a commanding performance as Beverley Bass, the first woman commercial airline captain, who ends up among those grounded in Gander. Tackling the relentless, four-and-a-half-minute solo, “Me and the Sky,” Smith pairs vocal precision with raw, soaring grit. Her portrayal serves as a testament to hard-won progress in women’s history, but also subtly asks whether our collective impulse to look out for one another has kept that current pace.
“Especially in the political climate right now, it’s nice to harken back to when a horrific tragedy occurred but we were all still a team— we cared about each other,” Smith reflected. “I’m not sure that would happen today.”
The production also thrives on real-life subplots that weave between charm and heartache. Gus Gordan nimbly plays a British man who falls in love with a woman from Texas (endearingly portrayed by Carly Shank) and Tiffany Wiliams adeptly plays Hannah, a mother from New York desperately trying to get into contact with her firefighter son. Craig Williams is utterly charming as a big-city transplant who arrives with his high-strung corporate partner, only to discover that small-town life might be exactly what his soul needs— a Hallmark style tale that even includes a trademark flannel.
Christie Lazarides offers a fierce, deeply affecting performance as Bonnie, the devoted SPCA worker determined not to let the cargo-hold animals be forgotten, and Daniel Maughan portrays a Middle Eastern passenger subjected to humiliating suspicion and bigotry born of panic. Maughan plays the role with such quiet, painful dignity that the injustice lands like a physical blow.
Rounding out this seamless ensemble are Jeremy Goeckner, Sara Baltusevich-Goeckner, Aasne Vigesaa and Tyrese Mercer — each turning in vibrant, layered and impressive work.
The production’s unsung ensemble member is its furniture; plain wooden chairs fluidly shifted across the stage to conjure bus aisles, airplane cabins, lookouts and rowdy diners— often within 30 seconds. This lightning-fast “chairography” is a staging marvel, and choreographer Anna Maisenbacher deserves a medal for orchestrating it so cleanly.
Come From Away is nothing short of spectacular — an emotional powerhouse that makes one laugh, weep and believe again in human decency. Capping the night, the onstage fiddler unleashes a blazing showcase best described as “when the devil went down to Newfoundland,” tearing into the strings with enough feverish joy to snap them during tech rehearsal. It is a rare production where the boundless passion of those onstage matches the heart of the story itself — pure and impossible to forget.
Come From Away continues its run at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in the LRS Theatre Oct. 24-25 and Oct. 29-Nov. 1. Friday and performances start at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. The first Saturday is a 7:30 p.m. performance and the second Saturday performance, on Halloween, begins at 2 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 217-523-2787 or visiting HCFTA.org https://www.hcfta.org/tickets
