Come From Away

At Des Moines Civic Center, 2020

This show is one I’ve heard everyone rave about. It’s also a show that I thought was about 9/11. So going into it, I figured I’d cry. However, I didn’t know much else. Cue, Welcome To The Rock.

I learned that Come From Away is actually not at all about 9/11, but about the week immediately following. It, of course, follows the story of both locals in Newfoundland & passengers on planes that were re-routed there. There’s a fairly small cast that play a large number of roles to tell this story.

For me, the story itself was a lot looser than I’d hoped. There wasn’t a strong outline or path that it followed. Sometimes the story would branch into some other tale, or take a pause, & it just felt confusing & unnecessary.

While I have immense appreciation for the variety of dialects the actors learned to portray so many characters, it became a challenge to keep them all straight. More costumes would’ve helped here. Also some characters were lasting characters, while others were not. But it was impossible to tell who was who.

The story by itself was a lot more entertaining than I thought. Where I expected to cry, I found myself laughing—it’s actually a pretty funny show. Good, lovable humor seemed to enshroud the production, which helped keep a lighter mood, despite the subject matter. The music was okay—to be honest, the only song I really enjoyed was the opening number.

I have love & appreciation for the writers who tried to tell this story, & for the actors, who have to live this nightly. However, this show simply did not wow me. I am glad I saw it, but it’s not something I’d return to again. Come From Away just isn’t for me.