At the time of the historic 9/11 terrorist attack, I was just short of two years old. Having said that, my recollection of the event and any sort of media coverage it received is nearly nonexistent, and all I have from September 11th, 2001 are stories that have been told by others. While the news stations blared for weeks about the occurrence of something so dreadful, a lot of secondary pieces (though equally as important) of information within the myriad of details surrounding 9/11 were not heavily recognized in the media following the attack.
Recently, I was lucky enough to have seen the Broadway musical "Come From Away," which recounts the experiences of 7,000 "plane people" who happened to have been on flights within close proximity to New York City on September 11th, 2001. In a state of utter confusion and panic, pilots flying all around the world knew they needed to avoid the New York area at all costs. For their own safety, flights were redirected away from New York and towards Gander, Newfoundland, while America was left petrified after two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center just days before. These "plane people," as they were referred through in the musical, came from all different walks of life and areas of the earth. They gathered in Gander and remained there for five days. The majority of these days were spent worrying about their loved ones and if they were safe from the terrorist attack. However, the time in Gander became more of an experience to remember as days went on.
Performed by a cast of 12 characters, these actors were to represent 7,000 citizens who were more or less trapped in a foreign country where many of them knew no one. Each character played multiple very strong personas, each of which emerged within different plotlines throughout the performance. The interchangeable storylines helped keep the audience on their toes and undoubtedly sparked my interest in this sidebar of such a memorable event in history.
The characters acted in such a way that their performance brought about a sense of reality across the theatre, as it could have been any of us stranded in Gander had the circumstances been different. The authentic casting contributed to the understanding of the seriousness of this time period in history, for it seemed as though nearly everyone was impacted in some shape or form. The most emotionally stirring plot by far displayed the emotions of a helpless mother of a New York City firefighter, as her days of worrying only brought her to the news that her son had died within the blaze of the World Trade Center.
The narrative is both sung and spoken, but as the show progresses, the story of 9/11 is clearly portrayed in an entirely different approach than we've ever seen in entertainment before: cheerfully. The cast sings fun and happy-go-lucky style songs and tells a completely different side of a story which Americans collectively remember as horrifying. After experiencing everything "Come From Away" offers its audience (which, to be fair, tested a lot of my emotions) I feel more informed about a crisis that will be prevalent in our telling of American history for years to come.
