As they celebrate their 60th year, CLOC’s final production for the year is the Australian non-professional premiere of Come From Away.
Written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, Come From Away made its Australian professional debut at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre in July 2019 then followed with a national tour interrupted by COVID, that ultimately ended in Canberra just last year.
Melbourne audiences, in particular, fell in love with Come From Away, and the show returned for two encore seasons, with many theatre-goers returning to see the musical multiple times. Which means, it’s still very fresh in our minds. Not only do we know this musical well, we love it. Deeply.
It’s no small task for a community theatre company to stage the non-professional premiere of any show and Come From Away is a surprisingly complex show to stage. Performed in one act, there are very pauses in the show once it starts. Movement must be carefully choreographed and timing is everything. The cast of twelve take on multiple roles, alternating between their Newfoundlander and “come from away” personas, with changes in accents combined with a quick change in a costume piece or use of a prop. There’s a lot happening quickly. But ultimately, Come From Away tells the true story of what happened when 38 planes were diverted to the Gander airport in Newfoundland, Canada, when American airspace was shut down after the terrorist attacks in New York on September 11, 2001. At its heart is a message of kindness in the midst of adversity.
As we took our seats and admired the set as we waited for the start of the show, there was immediately a sense of familiarity. The set design (Sally Martin) is unique, but similar enough to the original design to immediately bring a smile to Come From Away fans. An excellent lighting design (Brad Alcock) and sound design (Marcello Lo Ricco) complement the quality set. Costume design (Samantha Gore) helps to establish each character and also adds to the sense of familiarity for fans. Perhaps the most noticeable difference to the Australian professional production is the choice of a dark pixie cut hairstyle for the character of Beverley Bass, which is very similar to the hairstyle of Jenn Colella in the original Broadway production, rather than the blonde bob of Zoe Gertz. However, the real life Beverley Bass now sports a shorter pixie style, and so David Wisken is justified in his choice of wig design.
Director Rob Robson has delivered an outstanding production, allowing this beautiful and inspiring story to come alive. Robson has ensured the tenderness of the story shines through. The production is well paced and allows the story to breathe. There are some subtle differences here and there, which give this production it’s own unique feel, without deviating too far from the original. Choregraphy by Tailem Tynan is well executed by the whole cast, and again, brings that sense of familiarity fans are longing for.
Integral to the success of this musical is the nine piece orchestra under the musical direction of Malcolm Huddle. Music underscores much of this show and the orchestra have very little downtime. These musicians are not only note-perfect, and deliver a professional sound, they also have to appear on stage as part of Gander’s pub band. And they do a brilliant job.
Come From Away is an ensemble piece, with every performer having their moment in the spotlight. Natasha Bassett, Elyse Batson, Ric Birkett, Owen Clarke, Shaun Kingma, Jacqui McCallum, Rosa McCarty, Hayley Nissan, Jayson Paul, Richard Perdriau, Shane Pritchard and Vikaye Sithole all deliver outstanding performances. Rosa McCarty’s rendition of ‘Me and the Sky’ is as good as any professional performance.
Credit also to dialect coach Nikki Zhao. The Newfoundland accent is a difficult one to master, but still remain distinguishable for the Australian audience, and this cast has done an outstanding job. The changes in accents are clear and quickly help the audience to identify each persona.
And final acknowledgement is to stage manager Rosemary Curtis for ensuring this show runs with the amazing precision required.
CLOC have yet again delivered an exceptional non-professional Australian premiere, setting the benchmark for community theatre. If you missed the professional production, don’t miss this opportunity to see Come From Away. And if you’re already a fan of the show, you won’t be disappointed. This production left me with goosebumps and tears, but ultimately with a smile and inspired once more to bring kindness to the world.
I’ve met the writers of Come From Away and many of the real life characters featured in this true story. I know they’d very pleased to know their story is continuing to be told with such love and care, as once again, we honour what was lost, but also commemorate what we found.
Come From Away is now playing at the National Theatre in St Kilda.
For more details and tickets: https://www.cloc.org.au/
Photo credit: Ben Fon
