Editor’s note: Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student worker Susie (class of 2019) and features the cast recording of the Tony-nominated musical Come From Away. Thanks, Susie!
When I first heard that Broadway was making a musical about the tragic events of 9/11, I was quite confused. Sure, Broadway has capitalized on many historical wars and disasters such as Allegiance (Japanese American internment during World War 2), The Color Purple (the lives of African American women in the early 1900s), and Miss Saigon (Vietnam War). But most people do not know someone directly affected by these events anymore, especially since the most recent was almost 50 years ago. Come From Away started being workshopped only 10 years after 9/11. So naturally, many people questioned the appropriateness of this musical. Then people began to hear about it. The story. The music. A beautiful tribute to the people of Gander, Newfoundland who sheltered 7,000 displaced people during the closing of the American Airspace due to the terrorist attacks. And the talent that came together to put on the show in the Broadway debut in 2017 was incredible. Rightly so, the show received 7 Tony Nominations as well as a Grammy Nomination for this album.
The cast of Come from Away: Kendra Kassebaum, Jenn Colella, Sharon Wheatley, Lee MacDougall, Chad Kimball, Rodney Hicks, Joel Hatch, Petrina Bromley, Q. Smith, Astrid Van Wieren, Geno Carr, and Caesar Samayoa; photographed at the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal, in New York City.
Photohgraph by Mark Seliger. (Vanity Fair, February 2017)
The music on this CD tells a story. You can imagine being there in the audience, and because the music is such a large part of the story, you don’t miss much of the story line without the lines between the musical numbers. It opens with “Welcome to the Rock,” a catchy, full company number introducing the people and the town of Gander. “38 Planes” and “Blankets and Bedding” tell the story of the town preparing to shelter 7,000 people. Then you hear from the distraught passengers and the turmoil of their lives in “Lead Us Out of the Night” and “I Am Here”. Jenn Colella sings as the first American Airlines female pilot and beautifully delivers the story of a woman’s life as a pilot then realizing her favorite thing in the world was used in such a destructive and horrible way. If you only listen to one song on this track, listed to “Me and the Sky“. The passengers bring you through the struggle of returning home and realizing all that has happened in “Something’s Missing”. And finally with “10 Years Later” and “Finale”, the story ends with so much hope and love thanks to the people of Gander who opened their doors, homes, and hearts to thousands of people.