Come From Away - Therry Theatre Review
Complementing the standing ovation: 10 out of 10 stars
TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE: Come From Away Tickets
Come From Away opens at the Arts Theatre with the stage
on full reveal—chairs, tables, tree trunks as clothes hooks, and a large wooden
frame setting the scene. Flanking the action is a lively Newfoundland-inspired
band, primed to be part of the show’s energy.
Creative Team David Sinclair (Director), Peter Johns
(Musical Director), Linda Williams (Choreographer) and Irena Setchell have
pulled some of the best talent Adelaide has to offer, and thrown their
collective gifts into the Arts Theatre to create a magnum opus that is SA’s
non-professional premiere: “Come From Away”.
Come From Away is a musical based on the true story of the
week that followed the 9/11 attacks in America when 38 passenger planes
carrying 7,000 people dramatically landed on the doorstep of Gander,
Newfoundland. The story tells how the residents of Gander and the colloquially
known, “Plane People” came together. The show explores initial culture shock
and fear, evolving deep bonds and lifelong friends. It is fast paced, often
removing the opportunities for the audience to applaud the many well-deserved
moments, although a couple of comical moments couldn’t stop us – looking at
you, Spanish gym teacher…
This production epitomises an ensemble masterpiece, and as a
result, receives a well-deserving immediate standing ovation. Every cast member
has moments that stand out – but do so in equality with another cast member’s
stand out moments. The cast of 12 portray both townsfolk and passengers of
varying backgrounds, often switching it up with both props and minimal costume
changes. Each character comes with great accents in hand, often swapping
dialects as they swap a jacket or hat.
Adding the musicians to the pub scene and allowing them the
opportunity to showcase their talent in the Curtain Call adds to the already
perfect magic. Despite the action and changes consistently happening on stage,
I couldn’t keep my eyes off Malachy O’Reilly’s infectious rhythm on the
Bodhran, or Jack Brennan on the Whistles (reminding me of the recorder days),
or Mykaela McQueen ripping it out on the Electric Guitar!
Credit: Andrew Trimmings
To the cast: special mention goes to Daniel Hamilton, stepping
into the role of ‘Oz and others’ in tonight’s performance. With such an
intricate show in dialogue, lyrics, stage movement and choreography, Hamilton
stepped up to the plate and made us believe he has always been in this role,
giving everything he has with passion.
Claude and others is played brilliantly by David Gauci, who
has the affable job of beginning the show. From the first beat, the first note,
we knew we were in for a good night, thanks to Gauci’s leadership.
Trevor Anderson plays the role of Kevin J and others, taking
up the Muslim role within the production. While understanding the importance of
the theme within this story, it remains a gut-wrenching scene to watch,
considering all that is happening in the world currently, and over the past 24
years. Anderson’s portrayal of Kevin J is fun to watch, and his interactions
with Kevin T, particularly upon discovering they landed in the gayest town in
Newfoundland!
Stephen Tongun plays Bob and others – the character written
for an African actor. Tongun commands stage presence and woos many with his
strong baritone voice. A crowd favourite when he wore his ill-fitting pilot’s
uniform…
Kevin T and others is played by Brady Lloyd, who equally
works really well opposite Anderson. His brief performance as POTUS leaves
mixed feelings… but I’ll leave that with you to decipher.
Claire McEvoy as Bonnie and others, and Eloise
Quinn-Valentine as Janice and others are both equally quiet stars that shone
brightly in their moments – McEvoy in her scenes looking after the welfare of
the animals involved, climaxing with the goodbye of Ralph, Lyle and the pair of
Bonobo Chimpanzees; and Quinn-Valentine as the news reporter who started her
first day on the job… on September 11th! The swift anchoring of her
news microphone was cute.
Kate Anolak as Beulah and others, is the person we realise
we all need in our corner. Anolak’s character choices as Beulah, looking out
for Hannah (Lisa Simonetti) as she waits word from her son’s status was sweet
and endearing, connecting with the humanity within us all.
Lisa Simonetti’s (Hannah and others) performance of I Am
Here tugs at the heartstrings like nobody’s business – be prepared if you’re
generally an emotional person.
Kudos to Michael Denholm for holding his British accent
among all the Americans as Nick (and others) solidly enough where one wonders
if he is British. His moments with Michelle Nightingale (Diane and others) are
fun to watch, and their duet “Stop the World” is quite sweet. Discovering the
happy ending for these two characters is a bonus.
Dee Farnell’s character as the pilot of the flight from
Paris to Dallas is a fun character to watch. Her moment singing Me and The Sky
is equally powerful as it is mesmerising. I found myself forgetting to observe what
is happening around her on stage as Farnell sang… that seldom happens.
Covers Shelly Crooks, Dominic Hodges, Katie Packer and
Michelle Tan make the most of the additional scenes they take part in and add
to the intensity of the production with their individuality.
Each sound element is mixed beautifully – sound effects,
musicians, microphones were all audible and balanced. The lighting plot is
technically difficult, with many delayed follow spots and missed lighting cues,
but I remain hopeful it will become equally beautiful as the performance season
progresses. From my position in the audience, it didn’t take away from the
viewing enjoyability.
Therry President Jill Bartlett’s note in the program about community moves me to draw attention to the Production Credits page, and not often does it present in three columns, displaying the breadth of volunteers that put their time, blood, sweat and tears into a production to make it truly successful, including a chair wrangler: Jasmyn Setchell! Nobody succeeds alone.
Come From Away is worth every audience $ spent – check it out before it’s too late!
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