You are here— at the start of a moment:

9:37am Tuesday September 11^th 2001. The buzzer-bell that should have dismissed second period at Western School of Technology & Environmental Sciences, is two minutes late and instead, the voice of Principal Don Weglein comes on the intercom, excusing the interruption to classes, to state that two planes have crashed into The World Trade Center, classes are to be dismissed in an orderly fashion, and all students are to proceed to their next class or the cafeteria for lunch period, until further instructions are given.

I was in my sophomore G&T English class, we were studying Macbeth, mostly so Drew Daudelin, the teacher, had an excuse to wear a kilt to class, and my best friend Ashley Keplinger and I were in our ‘rebellious phase’ where we were making a stand by sitting on top of our desks instead of in our chairs at our desks to prove that where and how you sat didn’t impact or negatively affect your ability to learn and absorb information. I was 15. And despite being very bright, and in G&T classes, my immediate thoughts were to the— silently in my head— tune of “Who would fly two planes into the inner harbor?” Baltimore City also has a building called ‘The World Trade Center’, or at least that’s what we grew up being told it was called. I remember every detail of that morning— even the nonsense happening in Spanish IV before we got to English class that morning, and how quiet the compound was as we crossed it from English— which was out in the auxiliary trailers— into the classroom for World Studies with Mrs. Ford. Everyone who was old enough to remember where they were that day, remembers the details of where they were when they heard the news. It is one of the last true collective moments of history defined in that way, before instant-news and social media.

And the evocative, relatable story of “5 days, 19 animals, and 7,000 strays” is returning home to Ford’s Theatre— the nation’s capital, despite all else that’s going on within its bounds, gives a hearty return welcome to Come From Away as history commemorates the 25^th Anniversary of September 11^th 2001. The musical made its final ‘pre-Broadway’ engagement at Ford’s in September of 2016 and it feels fitting that it should return here a decade later. Directed by Kevin S. McAllister with Musical Direction by Mason Moss and Choreography by Katy Tabb, this heart wrenching, cathartically poignant musical tells the story of the small town of Gander in Newfoundland, Canada, which pulled together when 38 planes were forced to make an emergency landing on that fateful day, stranding nearly 7,000 passengers from around the world for an indeterminate amount of time. Amidst the chaos, fear, and terror, the people of that small town and areas surrounding opened up their homes and their hearts, giving hope to the rest of the world with their exemplary compassion, humanity, and kindness.

Scenically, the show is both simplistic and intricate. The wooden upright panels that are curved around the dual-ring turntable create the woodsy aesthetic that associates Gander with being in the perceived middle of nowhere. Scenic Designer Emily Lotz creates two of them slightly off-center, stage right to be more slender than the others, which leads to a very poignant effect when Xavier Pierce’s lighting design is calling the two towers into existence. Lotz’ overall fabrication of the space works well for Kevin S. McAllister’s vision, rotating pieces of the story and by proxy the players all around by utilizing these concentric-dual turn table rings. There is of course a moment where one is moving clockwise and the other counterclockwise and it creates a striking visual experience. When the story is this powerful, the scenery need not be overly complex and Lotz understands that. Pierce’s lighting is nothing short of exquisite, often featuring sharply focused pops of individualized spotlight-style cues to highlight which character is speaking or singing. There are reflective flickers of light for the television moments and other intricately constructed segments of illumination that thread their way seamlessly throughout the performance, making the show something is a visual masterpiece.

Sound Design, controlled and crafted by David Budries, was fairly on point for the night I was in attendance. A singular microphone issue once or twice, and only a minor imbalance with the orchestra and I’d say it’s a win in Budries’ department. The live band (conducted by Musical Director Mason Moss, also on keys and accordion) featured Kyung LeBlanc on fiddle, Eliot Seppa on electric/acoustic bass, Matthew Geist on electric/acoustic guitars, Jim Roberts on acoustic guitars/mandolin/Bouzouki, Ben Bokor on whistles/Irish Flute/Uilleann Pipes, Manny Arciniega on drums/percussion, and Danny Villanueva on Bodhrán/percussion. If there was a hiccup in the show’s overall musicality coming from the pit it was that the pacing on “Blankets and Bedding” was slow and the downbeat that spikes the critical moment during “Darkness and Trees” was a half second too late. But don’t’ let those easily overlooked micro-mistakes make you think anything other than greatness about Moss and his pit. When they’re up on stage, physically visible, inspiring the joy of a thousand worlds during “Screech In” and then giving the most elatedly over-the-top and enthusiastically vigorous performance during “Finale” you’ll feel as if you’re sharing the pulses of their very hearts as they play for you.

While not a dance show, Come From Away does have some delightful choreography in play, compliments of Choreographer Katy Tabb. This is witnessed prominently during “Screech In” where you get the six gents and the six lasses doing their ‘dance-off’ during the ‘heave-away’ section of the number and during the stomping outro during “Finale.” The overall sense of Blockyography, surely a combined effort on Tabb and Director Kevin S. McAllister’s part, is stunning. The show literally and metaphorically revolves around the minutia of the actors and their movements, as each of the dozen performers tackles multiples roles all throughout the performance. The way each performer shifts— with the simple donning or doffing of a jacket or cap (by way of Costume Designer, Paris Francesca, whose sartorial selection for the show is a sublime fit)— or a noteworthy slide from Newfoundlander accent to some other global sound (hearty and thorough praises are owed to Dialects and Voice Director Rachel Hirshorn-Johnston)— is a movement in its own, combined with the way they are in a perpetual state of frenetic and energetic physical motion, even when they’re mostly still, makes the story and the overall experience magical.

It’s truly an ensemble piece and Kevin S. McAllister has selected an extraordinary dozen performers from some of the areas finest to fill out the roles. Jonathan Atkinson, Kelli Blackwell, Caitlin Brooke, Montel B. Butler, Evan Casey, Sarah Corey, Julia Wheeler Lennon, Joe Mallon, Michael Perrie Jr., Lawrence Redmond, Housso Sémon, and Erin Weaver comprise the cast; they are the quintessential dozen ‘every-human’ and an its an extraordinary thing to watch. The magical synergy and overall compassionate bond shared across these twelve performers is the epitome of genuine theatrical camaraderie. It’s the mark of a stellar production. They all takes turns sharing the show’s narrative journey, each adding moments of laughter and mirth, heartache and grief, and everything in-between. And as one, they all have an exceptional handle on their Newfoundland accents and other regional and global dialects and affectations, in addition to having impeccable timing in their various deliveries. In the simplistic setup where all the locals are greeting one another inside the Tim Hortons, the comedic go-round of name-greets is hilarious and the timing is razor-sharp. And when they all collectively stand watching the ‘scenes’ on the television, the collective gasp lands hard and heavy in the hearts and guts of the stomachs of the audience, as one they make you feel and experience what they’re feeling and experiencing. It’s an exquisite and cathartic experience.

Evan Casey’s Oz has one of the more pronounced Newfoundlander accents and his character has some of the quirkier lines that get the chuckles— personal favorites being ‘STFD’ and it’s explanation during “Welcome to the Rock” and his elongated ‘sooooooo’ during “Blankets and Bedding” when he’s making runs back and forth to Shoppers. Julia Wheeler Lennon, as Janice and others, has an equally exemplary handle on her accent and she has an indefatigable energy that even when her character discovers the difficulty of her reporting job, never wavers or fades, even if it transmutes from enthusiasm to agonized guilt; it’s a beautiful trajectory to witness. Each of the players finds someone to build dynamics with— be it Lawrence Redmond’s Claude and Mchael Perrie Jr.’s Garth when they’re mouthing off about coming to the table over the strike or Erin Weaver as Bonnie and Joe Mallon as Doug, sassing and fussing at one another when Weaver’s Bonnie is just trying to help the animals and Mallon’s Doug is trying to not get in trouble/get fired/have Bonnie get arrested. All of these little moments, often when the actors are wearing their secondary/tertiary/quaternary character identities, are what truly unlock the tenacious vivacity of humanity in this play. When Housso Sémon, whose primary role is that of Captain Beverley, plays ‘Annette’, a local teacher in Gander, and she starts ‘fan-girling’ over one of the Pilots (Montel B. Butler) and the Hot-Heart-Cardiologist (all six men in Doctors coats) her interactions (and observed reactions by Kelli Blackwell’s Beulah) are hysterical, adding a much needed comedic component (complete with full-on flashing fantasy-sequence lighting from Xavier Pierce) to the performance.

Everyone sings nearly every number, though there are a few songs where certain performers are given the chance to truly radiate. Kelli Blackwell, as the charmingly humorous and deeply maternal Beulah, has no feature song of her own, however you get to hear that astonishing vocal prowess that Blackwell possesses as she becomes the ‘Titanic feature’ lyric girl during both “28 Hours/Wherever We Are” and again during “Screech In.” Other actors, like Lawrence Redmond are making their mark on the audience with their character’s consistency. When he’s playing the Mayor of Gander, Claude, you get this stalwart yet focused sense of leadership from Redmond all while simultaneously watching him struggle to maintain his character’s composure in the face of such a disaster. There are little moments, gloriously heartwarming and truly tear-bringing, where you can see the tears welling up in Redmond’s eyes as he’s trying to maintain this perception of ‘strong leader.’ It’s marvelous. Montel B. Butler is experienced in a similar vein when playing Bob, though his character has more of the humorous vein to be approached in. And Jonathan Atkinson, in his secondary role of Ali, gives one of the most devastatingly expressive speeches in the production, just before they board the planes to leave Newfoundland. It’s harrowing and haunts your mind through to the show’s conclusion.

The dizzyingly glorious quartet of “Costume Party”, featuring Caitlin Brooke as Diane, Sarah Corey as Hannah, Jonathan Atikinson as Kevin J., and Michael Perrie Jr. as Kevin T., is this fantastical amalgamation of relief and confusion, frustration and grace expressed through these four talented performers in a way that wholly articulates their experience up to that point from multiple angles. Corey, as Hannah— the Mom from New York whose son is a missing-in-action firefighter— has a classically lyrical sounding voice, which presents some unique emotional-masking during her solo feature “I am Here.” This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it’s a different approach to the character and the song as she lets her voice bear up the burden of pathos that comes attached to the character and the lyrics in that moment. Perrie Jr., who starts off “Prayer” has a grounded, mellifluous voice that drifts delicately along in this number. And then there’s a culmination of glorious heart-rending blends late in that number, which features Perrie, still singing as Kevin T., Redmond singing as a hidden Jewish man who’s lived his whole life unannounced in Newfoundland along with Joe Mallon playing the Rabbi, Atkinson as Ali, and two of the female ensemble (Erin Weaver and Julia Wheeler Lennon) as Hindu women in prayer, joined by the rest of the company; it’s life affirming hearing those verses sung together, multiple-faiths represented, fully fleshed out emotional experiences in song.

Catilin Brooke, as Diane, and Joe Mallon, as Nick, have the hopeful romantic throughline— that even in such a devastating tragedy, beauty can blossom and grow. And when they sing together for “Stop the World” it’s gorgeous. Both Brooke and Nick have solid handles on their respective Texan and British accents, which get swapped in and out as they take up the mantle of other characters. Housso Sémon, who eschews the more traditional ‘Dallas-girl’ accent for her Captain Beverly role, dazzles the audience with her vocal prowess during “Me and the Sky.” Some of the options and riffing alternatives which she adds are just that little hint of personality that really transition the song from sensational to soaring.

It’s hard to find more words to praise this production because mere words don’t do it justice. Get a ticket, if you are able as they are booking up quite quickly, to honor what was lost and commemorate what was found. Come From Away is an extraordinary experience for the universality of the human race, regardless of where you hail from and Ford’s Theatre is making sure if you’re searching for a safe harbor, a safe space to feel all the feelings of connectivity, to be embraced by the kindness of humanity, they have your open door.

Running Time: Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes with no intermission

Come From Away is now extended through October 25^th 2026, playing at Ford’s Theatre— — 511 10^th Street NW in Washington DC. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 888-616-0270 or by purchasing them in advance online.