Theatre Trip: Come From Away

COME FROM AWAY

Phoenix Theatre
Date: 13th April (Saturday), 2:30pm
Seats: Dress Circle, Row C 15-16
(with Jess!)

Understudy: Diane and others (Chiara Baronti), Janice and others (Kirsty Malpass), Beulah and others (Tania Mathurin), Claude and others (Alexander McMorran)

Notes: For the last few days, Jess and I have been frantically trying at 10am to get Rush tickets to a few shows - one of them being Come From Away, the other Six. We had also been enering 5 ticket lotteries (All My Sons, All About Eve, Mamma Mia, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and German Life) and having no luck so far, with tickets disappearing so quickly it seemed impossible. But then a pair of tickets popped back up for the matinee and Jess got them!

The show...I mean, wow.

There are only 12 performers in the entire production, which I think ties for musical with the smallest cast (with Avenue Q) and they are all on stage for the whole show except for quick changes. They also move the set around, as the whole thing is a very mminimalist set which allows the actors to shine. And also, each actor plays multiple characters - everyone plays Newfoundlanders as well as Come From Aways (to represent that sometimes we all help and that we also all need helping sometimes, according to the program). We had 4 understudies in roles and I thought every actor was incredible. Standouts for me were Hannah (Cat Simmons), who was so raw and guttural, Bonnie (Mary Doherty) who was just so funny, no nonsense and compassionate as Bonnie in particular when saving the animals from the planes. Also Beverly (Rachel Tucker), who was the only performer I knew going in to the show was amazing during Me and the Sky (such a great song!)

It was also the best choreography I’ve seen in a show in a long time. They were totally in sync the whole show and there were lots of abrupt movements which were like one person rather than 12! It was so well it together, and the on stage costume changes were very well coordinated so that you barely noticed them. It is a very cleverly made show!

The music in the show was different to what I was expecting. I didn’t know very much about Newfoundland and therefore didn’t realise about the English and Irish influence in their culture, and therefore the music in the show. It gave the music a very raw, guttural feel at times and added to the warm, homely vibe that the whole show had. The band was also on stage for the whole show and even cam and joined the action at one point. And bonus to the fiddle player, who got down on her knees at the curtain call and did a guitar-style solo!

The audience all adored it. The theatre appeared to be packed, and while there are only 4 clap points in the whole 100 minutes (opening, finale, after Me and the Sky, and after one of the jokes), at the end of the show pretty much the whole crowd leapt to their feet and gave a standing ovation. It was definitely the fastest standing I’ve seen in a while! Also, while there was no interval (which meant long queues at the bathroom before the show started), I never felt like there was a time I wanted to look at my watch. It was exceptionally well paced and kept clipping along from beginning to end. I think the lack of clapping helped it to build momentum and tension, which wasn’t truly released until the curtain call, which made that all the more satisfying.

I am so glad to have seen this production, would recommend it to everyone, as it does a beautiful job of telling a heartwarming human story in an exceptional way. I just wish there weren’t so many other things I want to see and that I could see more things multiple times! The biggest of first world problems...