‘Come from Away’ brings message of hope to start year at Washington Pavilion

Jan. 8, 2025

This paid piece is sponsored by Washington Pavilion Management Inc.

In a time of tragedy, when fearfulness and despair seem insurmountable, you need a community to surround you with hope.

In a time of uncertainty and pending change, it’s good to be reminded that such communities have existed in the past and can come together again.

The musical “Come from Away,” which runs through Thursday in the Washington Pavilion’s Mary W. Sommervold Hall, offers such a reminder. A fast-paced 100 minutes covers the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and in Pennsylvania. Almost immediately, the town of Gander, Newfoundland, came together to feed, house and, most importantly, comfort bewildered passengers whose journeys had been interrupted, but they didn’t know why.

On Sept. 11, 2001, 38 planes carrying about 7,000 passengers were ordered to land at Gander International Airport. The 12 characters in the musical are based on actual Gander residents and the stranded travelers.

“Come from Away” premiered in California in 2015 and opened on Broadway in March 2017, becoming both a critical and box-office success. In the intervening years, its relevance hasn’t diminished.

A 12-person cast that takes on multiple roles and an on-stage group of exuberant musicians bring the events of an unforgettable day to Sioux Falls. A set consisting of tables and chair, and tall trees evoking Canadian woods, allows the scenes to change with just a shift in stance. Reangling how the actors sit immediately turns a control tower into a plane filled with passengers.

It’s impossible to single out a cast member. By shedding a coat or adding a cap, they moved from character to character: distraught mother, fervent animal lover, object of suspicion, town mayor, unexpected lovers, pioneering female pilot. The pilot in particular gets her time in the spotlight, but the musical would suffer with the removal of any character.

If you lived through the attacks of 9/11 — and most of Tuesday’s audience did — it’s easy to begin the musical reliving the sense of dread that grew during the day. Before 9:30 p.m. rolls around, you find yourself comforted by the promise of humanity’s goodness that “Come from Away” offers.

Get your tickets here.