"Come From Away" at La Jolla Playhouse

Last night I had a real treat, I was invited to attend the final dress rehearsal of "Come From Away" at the La Jolla Playhouse, home of San Diego's bench team for Broadway. The World Premiere is tonight.

I asked my friend/niece-in-law (ugh that's a mouthful I'll just stick to "friend") Christy to come with me.  Yesterday morning when I mentioned it was a musical, her face fell. I asked if she liked musicals and she said with her customary honesty (one of the reasons I love her) "Not really".   I guess at that point we both were apprehensive about how enjoyable this might be for her.

I'm not going to make you read the whole thing before I tell you Christy loved it, as did I.

The story is one so rich in characters and emotions that I am surprised no one has done anything with it up to now. It tells of the day when planes flying from around the world were grounded in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and 38 of them ended up landing in Gander Newfoundland.  Some seven thousand people of all ages, walks of life and speaking an assortment of languages were on those planes.The story of how the town of Gander, population just under 10,000, took them in for the few days no planes were flying is heartwarming, funny and ultimately inspiring.

I've never written a theater review, so forgive me if I don't cover what the standard review does. What I want to write about is how wonderfully clever the staging was, using only a scattering of wooden chairs and a couple of tables to stand in for everything from a 747 in the air to an elementary school to a locals' bar in the "gayest town in Newfoundland!" (you'll have to see the show to get it)

Even more clever, and wonderfully talented, was the group of 12 actors who portrayed multiple characters with multiple accents while singing the great score-- the lyrics are funny and poignant in turn. Oh and whilst dancing, and moving the stage furniture around as well. A wonderful ensemble, and impossible to pick any one as a favorite.

The characters move back and forth between talking to the audience and talking to each other. It sounds like it might be awkward but it isn't and the singing fits into the scenes pretty naturally. Again, not your standard Broadway blockbuster.

And I will remind you to bring a hankie, because as uproariously funny as some scenes are, the scenes where the various characters learn what has happened are emotional. Maybe part of that is relating to their feelings-- we all know where and how we heard the dreadful news.

The show has its world premiere tonight, and I predict it will be a big hit here, and across the country. If you have a chance, and even if you don't like musicals, go see "Come From Away".  I'll bet you'll be glad you experienced this wonderful show.