Michiganders are part of many stories about September 11, 2001.
One of the lesser-known stories of 9/11 is coming to theaters across Michigan. A remarkable confluence is happening on stages from Southeast to West Michigan, up north to the Thumb. Come From Away, by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, is a musical about the town of Gander, Newfoundland, where 38 airplanes carrying thousands of travelers from all over the world diverted the morning of 9/11. No fewer than seven theaters chose to stage the production this month, with more coming in October, November, and next spring.
- Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Petoskey September 4-11
- Croswell Opera House (Adrian) September 11-20
- Spotlight Players (Canton) September 11-20
- Grand Rapids Civic Theatre September 11-27
- Stagecrafters Theater, Royal Oak September 11-27
- Avon Players Theatre, Rochester Hills September 11-26
- Farmers Alley Theatre, Kalamazoo September 26-October 25
- University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance (Ann Arbor) October 8-18
- Midland Center for the Arts November 13-22
- Encore Theatre (Dexter) April 15-May 9, 2027
Cynthia Kortman Westphal was musical director for the show’s first national tour, after its successful run on Broadway. She now chairs Musical Theater at the University of Michigan’s Department of Music, Theatre and Dance. She’s also helping direct a student production of the show next month. Kortman Westphal was living in Manhattan in 2001. When producers first approached her, she felt deep reservations. But within five minutes of watching the New York production, she was convinced.
“What I love about the script and the score,” Kortman Westphal told us, “is that so much of the text is from the actual transcripts of interviews the writers did with the folks in Gander. … So much of the dialogue is actually what people said.”
Come From Away is a Tony-award-winning story of briskly-paced first- and second-person oral histories. Some characters represent citizens of Gander, who saw their town’s population more than double, as the “plane people” arrived over a matter of hours. Others are travelers themselves: fearful, frustrated, and almost all emotionally adrift.
As the people of Gander reach out to house, feed, and care for the strangers, their stories entwine in surreal and unexpected ways.
“At its most core level, it's about human kindness, humanity at its best under extremely difficult circumstances,” said Kortman Westphal. “It really is about casseroles and sandwiches and toilet paper and blankets and toothpaste and diapers and cat food.”
The production's Newfoundland setting is well represented in its score, drawing heavily from the province’s Irish, English, and Scottish roots. Many Michigan theaters are tapping in live performers from regional Celtic music communities.
“One thing I really love,” Kortman Westphal said, “is … the musicians are not only on stage for the entire show, but at times they come out from behind their instruments. They come onto the stage, they become the bar band.”
While no single written work can encompass the range of experiences 9/11 imposed, Come From Away speaks to a remarkable range of memorable people, drawn together under duress. Kortman Westphal recalls one of her favorite memories of the tour was speaking to audience members about their own stories.
“Everybody has some story of where they were that day.”
