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'Come From Away' brings 9/11 story of human kindness to Mountain View stage
A Broadway musical about ordinary people rising to extraordinary circumstances during one of historys darkest moments has come to the Bay Area — and it has deep roots here.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - A Broadway musical about ordinary people rising to extraordinary circumstances during one of history's darkest moments has come to the Bay Area — and it has deep roots here.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's production of 'Come From Away' is running now through May 10 at the Mountain View Performing Arts Center.
Story of a small town
Dig deeper:
The Tony Award-winning show tells the true story of Gander, Newfoundland, a small Canadian town of about 7,000 residents that suddenly found itself host to more than 7,000 stranded airline passengers when international flights were grounded following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"The people in this small town took care of all of these passengers from around the world," said Michael Gene Sullivan, one of the show's 12 actors, in an interview. "They gave them housing, they made them food. The show is very much about the humanity and the kindness — people being their best selves at the worst possible time."
Sullivan plays multiple roles in the production, including Nick, a British businessman bound for Texas, and Doug, a local air traffic controller — sometimes switching between the two within the same scene using nothing more than a hat or jacket change.
The production
Sleight of hand:
The minimalist staging relies heavily on chairs, which actors rearrange to suggest different locations, keeping the focus squarely on character and story.
The show runs an hour and 45 minutes without an intermission, and its music is woven continuously into the narrative rather than delivered as standalone numbers.
All characters in the production are based on real people, drawn from interviews conducted by the show's writers and composers.
"It doesn't deny any of that fear and anxiety people had," Sullivan said. "But it also shows people overcoming it."
Local perspective:
The production carries particular significance for the Bay Area.
TheatreWorks helped develop 'Come From Away' through its annual new play development program before it went on to Broadway — a pipeline that has launched multiple award-winning productions.
"A lot of their shows have gone on to Broadway and won a lot of awards, and 'Come From Away' is one of those shows," Sullivan said. "TheatreWorks does an amazing job of developing plays."
'Come From Away' runs through May 10 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View.
The Source: TheatreWorks Silicon Valley