An exuberant ‘Come From Away’ lands at The Engeman Theater in Northport

Written By: Barbara Anne Kirshner

Do you remember where you were the morning of September 11, 2001, when you learned the mighty landscape of lower Manhattan had been decimated? We all watched in horror, thinking ‘This can’t be real!’ It took a moment for the atrocity to sink in. Was this some fictitious theatrical stunt? No! This happened in our beloved city, to our beloved World Trade Center, and to so many innocent people.

On that clear Tuesday morning at 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower. At 9:03 a.m., a second plane, United Airlines Flight 175, crashed into the South Tower. The airspace surrounding New York City was suddenly compromised, and all planes coming in and out of New York were diverted.

The musical Come From Away begins when some 38 airplanes carrying about 7,000 passengers were sent to the isolated town of Gander, Newfoundland. These passengers included about 60 children on a Children’s Wish Foundation journey to Disneyland, and about 19 animals, including dogs, cats and a pregnant bonobo monkey. The displaced passengers were met with hospitality and kindness by the Gander locals who gave them shelter, clothing, food and even baby formula. Unbreakable bonds were formed during the four days these passengers were hosted by the Gander townspeople. Come From Away is a remarkably uplifting tale of humanity at the heart of this very real tragedy.

Enter Michael Rubinoff, a Toronto lawyer, theatre producer and associate dean of visual and performing arts at Sheridan College in Oakville who had the idea for Come From Away. Rubinoff brought in the Canadian husband and wife writing team Irene Sankoff and David Hein to write the book, music and lyrics. The couple had a personal connection to the story as they were living in New York during the September 11 attacks. To intensify the realism of this show, Sankoff and Hein visited Gander and interviewed locals who helped out during those four traumatic days. Of note, the title of the musical is derived from the phrase “come from aways,” which is a Newfoundland term for outsiders or non-locals.

Come from Away had a successful premiere in 2015 at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, then went on to several other stops before opening on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on March 12, 2017, where it became a critical and box office hit. The musical was nominated for seven Tony Awards and won for Best Direction of a Musical for Christopher Ashley. The film was released in 2021 and, like Hamilton, it is a live stage recording, not a film adaptation of the musical.