Come From Away (downloadable music)

Come From Away
music by David Hein and Irene Sankoff [Hoopla Digital] 

This is the soundtrack to the current hit Broadway show of the same title. Come From Away tells the story of what happened in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland in British Columbia, as a result of the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001. When the U.S. airspace was shut down following the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the hundreds of planes still in the air and en route to U.S. destinations, had to find someplace “else” to land, many of them low on fuel. One of those places was a small international airfield in Gander, on the isle of Newfoundland, about 550 miles NE of Maine. The book The Day the World Came to Town chronicles the events that transpired after 38 international flights were forced to land at Gander’s airfield, and the small community suddenly had to shelter and feed 7000 unexpected visitors, all in an atmosphere of fright and confusion.

Come From Away tells the same story, only with catchy, unforgettable music. A relatively small cast of characters stands in for the locals and the 6,000+ guests, and the music moves quickly from the pounding, driving introductory number “Welcome to the Rock” to a mixture of fast-paced and more introspective numbers. Obviously, in the case of a soundtrack, the listener doesn’t get to read or hear the non-musical plot points and dialog between the characters, but the flow of the songs still tells this story fairly well. We get the points of view of pragmatic Newfoundlanders, New Yorkers concerned with family at the Trade Center site, pilots from Texas, Muslim passengers feeling ostracized because of the circumstances. There’s even a romance brewing between a couple of the characters who would never have met each other if it weren’t for the tragic circumstances.

While there are certainly big rollicking numbers featuring the entire company, there are some truly stand-out pieces in this album: I Am Here, Prayer, Screech In, The Dover Fault, and my personal favorite, Me and the Sky. The full-company scene where the visitors (the “Come From Awayers”) all become honorary Newfoundlanders is funny and moving. I also appreciated that the musical features a coda in which the Come From Awayers returned to Gander on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 to thank all the locals. The vocalists are all excellent, and listening to this Broadway soundtrack really makes me long to see the full show. Hopefully a touring company will bring it to Lincoln or Omaha soon!
In this month where we commemorate the 16th anniversary of 9/11, if you’re looking to read or listen to something related to that topic, I recommend giving Come From Away a try. Currently, it is only available through the libraries’ Hoopla Digital Downloads service, but I’m hoping we’ll also buy it on CD eventually!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Day the World Came to Town, by Jim DeFede.] [ official Come From Away Broadway web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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