Arts Club’s Come From Away finds fresh resonance in divided times

Vance Avery plays Kevin T in the Arts Club production of Come From Away. Photo by Devita Contemplativa

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Come From Away

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When: May 28-July 26
Where: Stanley BFL CANADA Stage, 2750 Granville St., Vancouver
Tickets: From $39 at artsclub.com and 604-687-1644

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Across the nation, theatre companies are gearing up for productions of Come From Away.

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The Arts Club, in partnership with Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre, are among the companies readying a version now that the rights to the homegrown Broadway hit became available for wider licensing late last year.

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Inspired by true events, Come From Away is a Tony Award-nominated musical about Gander, Newfoundland welcoming 7,000 stranded passengers from 38 grounded flights on Sept. 11, 2001.

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The 2015 musical has been celebrated for its warmth and humour. Written by Canadians Irene Sankoff and David Hein, it was the longest-running production in the history of the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway. It earned seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, and won for Best Direction. It also won four Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical, and five Outer Critics Circle Awards.

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The show has come to Vancouver three times already via Broadway Across Canada. Director Ashlie Corcoran emphasizes that the Arts Club show will be different. For one thing, it’s at the Stanley, not the Queen Elizabeth.

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“We have just less than 700 seats,” said Corcoran, who is also the Arts Club’s artistic director.

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“So anytime you see a show there, it’s going to be different from the QE, because you’re just so much closer to the stage and to the actors. I love directing at the QE, love working on that stage, but people are the size of your pinky, depending on where you’re sitting. And at the Stanley, it’s a much, much more intimate experience.”

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For the set design, Corcoran says that her team has “really taken to heart the idea of these people being stuck on an island in the middle of the North Atlantic. Our set is this square that sort of juts out in front of the stage, invading the audience space a little bit, with a series of seven very, very tall doors at the back that spin and rotate. The actors are never making exits or entrances off the sides of the stage, which was done quite a bit in the original production.”

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The show is written for 12 actors and 12 chairs, with the performers constantly creating new worlds and positions.

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“We’ve made it a little more challenging for ourselves. They can only get off stage if they’re going upstage through one of these swinging doors.”

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Another difference is that the majority of the cast and live music ensemble are from Vancouver or Edmonton.

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“We’re seeing a lot of local talent on stage, which is always really exciting. Sometimes people think ‘local talent’ means performers who don’t have robust professional careers, but the artists we work with have been on Broadway and have performed all across Canada.”