Come From Away!

If there was ever a musical or a play that made every character equal its Come From Away. There is no star, there is nobody that raises above anyone else. It is truly a magical experience. All the characters are appealing and not all is right with the world.

If you dont know what Come From Away is about, heres some simple MaxsDadsplaining for y'all. Remember 9/11? Well on 9/11 there were a shitload of airplanes in the air that could not land in the United States because the airspace had been shut down. 38 planes (a great song) landed in Gander, Newfoundland, thats in Canada sort of. A former gassin up spot when planes couldnt hold that much fuel was used to be a port in the storm for the stranded passengers from all over the world. All over the world. Texas, England, LA, Africa, Egypt,Germany and Canada. The townfolk jump into action to care for the 7,000 refugees and jump into they do.

There are perhaps 30 to 40 characters in this peppy musical played by 12 people. 12 great performers who do their own set changes, change clothes, accents and and hop around onstage sharing the spotlight and being constantly in motion. Some of the actors are not young making the activity seem even more admirable.

You have so many characters that are so likable and some that are not. The British lonely guy who seems to have met his soulmate in Gander. The mother whose son is a missing NYC firefighter. The Mayor of Gander. Two gay Kevins ( I liked gay Kevin but gay Kevin was a bit of a dick). The lone Muslim who is isolated and looked on with suspicion. The Texas woman pilot. The librarian, the Canadian redneck, oh they are all wonderful.

I love theater and this may have one of the most enjoyable hour and 40 minutes (no intermission) Ive had in a long time. Every play has speed bumps where it slows to a crawl. Come From Away does not. Great songs, happy songs, sad songs. Commentary about what happened on 9/11, statements on religion, working folk, sexism and bigotry abound. With an onstage band that takes part in a bar scene I cant rave about this play enough.

See it.