{"id":248772,"date":"2015-06-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-19T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/new-musical-with-9-11-as-backdrop-is-a-hit\/"},"modified":"2015-06-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-06-19T07:00:00","slug":"new-musical-with-9-11-as-backdrop-is-a-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/new-musical-with-9-11-as-backdrop-is-a-hit\/","title":{"rendered":"New musical with 9\/11 as backdrop is a hit"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Charlene Baldridge<\/p>\n

Word gets around: \u201cCome From Away,\u201d the new musical at La Jolla Playhouse<\/a>, was extended twice before it had a chance to fully open in previews. Having officially opened June 11 under the direction of Artistic Director Christopher Ashley, it now continues through July 12 in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.<\/p>\n

We meet two sets of people in Irene Sankoff and David Hein\u2019s \u201cCome From Away\u201d \u2014 the inhabitants of Gander, Newfoundland, and \u201cthe plane people,\u201d who came from away, having been stranded mid-air on 9\/11.<\/p>\n

When terrorists hit and destroyed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City that day, American airspace was closed and planes around the world were ordered to land and stay until further notice. Thirty-eight international flights landed in Gander, and for five days the local inhabitants, who had long ago staffed a major refueling hub, hosted 7,000 people, providing whatever they needed. 9\/11 changed our lives forever, but none more so than those of the hosts and the stranded.<\/p>\n

\"Jenn<\/a>
Jenn Colella and the cast, (Photo by Kevin Berne)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From the opening chord of \u201cYou Are Here,\u201d the husband-and-wife team of Sankoff and Hein, who wrote the book, lyrics and music, sweep onlookers through 14 songs into the suspenseful saga, telling of those who opened their hearts and homes and those bedraggled souls who received kindness, bounty and the courage to move on in a world forever changed. There is no doubt at any given moment which set of folks is center stage \u2014 they all are, whether playing Newfoundlanders or the stranded multitudes (there\u2019s also an authentic eight-member orchestra on ethnic instruments such as Uilleann pipes, Irish flute and Bodhran). The 12-person acting\/singing ensemble accomplishes multitudes with mere shifts in attitude.<\/p>\n

\"(l<\/a>
(l to r) Astrid Van Wieren, Caesar Samayoa and Chad Kimball (Photo by Kevin Berne)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The piece is filled with joy \u2014 musically and physically, set afire with skilled acting, superb direction, and a rollicking, unique music descended from the Celts and refined by generations who survived long winters on spirits, dance and song \u2014 and don\u2019t forget \u201cscreech-ins\u201d with the cod.<\/p>\n

The storytelling, the story, the music and the warmth never stop as we become inured with painful unknowing. There is never a maudlin moment despite the pain, despite the pathos \u2014 the work is simply awesome in every good and deep sense of the word. Not since \u201cMemphis,\u201d \u201cThoroughly Modern Millie\u201d and \u201cJersey Boys\u201d has a musical been so indelibly inscribed \u201chit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"(l<\/a>
(l to r) Caesar Samayoa, Geno Carr, Joel Hatch, Astrid Van Wieren, Allison Spratt Pearce and Petrina Bromley, (Photo by Kevin Berne)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ensemble comprises Patrina Bromley, Geno Carr, Jenn Colella, Chad Kimball, Joel Hatch, Rodney Hicks, Lee MacDougall, Allison Spratt Pearce, Caesar Samoya, Q. Smith, Astrid Van Wieran and Sharon Wheatley. Each creates an array of characters, none so endearing as the elder Englishman (MacDougall) who falls in love with a woman from Texas (Wheatley). Or a New York couple (Kimball and Samoya), both named Colin. Or the American Airlines captain (Colella), who fought so hard to become what she is and still managed to raise a family simultaneously. Gloriously, Joel Hatch sings and acts the heck out of Gander\u2019s warm and forceful mayor, and Geno Carr creates numerous distinct characters.<\/p>\n

\"(l<\/a>
(l to r) Allison Spratt Pearce and Petrina Bromley. (Photo by Kevin Berne)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Screen<\/a>The whole evening \u2014 beautifully created by Sankoff and Hein \u2014 moves so swiftly and smoothly in one act with no interval. One is hardly aware that the actors, their airline seats, all the accouterments brought to bear, and even the band sometimes travel on scenic designer Boewulf Boritt\u2019s turntable and populate his set, which evokes the watery landscape of desolation. Toni-Leslie James is costume designer; Howard Binkley, the genius lighting designer; and Gareth Owen, the sound designer who is ever supportive. Towering over all are August Erikson\u2019s orchestrations, Ian Eisencrath\u2019s arrangements, and Kelly Devine\u2019s choreography. It\u2019s as natural as real and every bit as inspiring as the real story.<\/p>\n

\u2014Charlene Baldridge ha estado escribiendo sobre las artes desde 1979. Puedes seguir su blog en charlenebaldridge.com<\/a> o llegar a ella en charb81@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Charlene Baldridge Word gets around: \u201cCome From Away,\u201d the new musical at La Jolla Playhouse, was extended twice before it had a chance to fully open in previews. Having officially opened June 11 under the direction of Artistic Director Christopher Ashley, it now continues through July 12 in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":731,"featured_media":248773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"New musical with 9\/11 as backdrop is a hit","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/731"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}