Welcome to the Rock! Summer in Santa Barbara County means musicals at PCPA. This year, the company presents a satisfying selection of light-hearted Broadway hits, commencing in a folksy flurry with Come From Away (written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein). Directed by Roger DeLaurier, Come From Away is a strong summer-season opener, with fluid choreography by Molly Dobbs, framed in sharp, purposeful stage configurations. The show is both visually stimulating and emotionally uplifting, a sigh of relief in a chaotic world.
Come From Away is vibrant and fast-paced with music inspired by the traditional, jaunty sounds of Gander, Newfoundland (colonized by the English and settled by Irish immigrants) where the play is set. In the show, the U.S. airspace is shut down after the disastrous 9/11 attacks in 2001. In-progress flights headed into the United States were ordered to land outside the country’s border, stranding 7,000 people from 38 planes for several days in the tiny town of Gander. Facing an emergency influx of people that doubled the town’s population, the earnest and steadfast Ganderites prepare for the greatest act of hospitality the county (maybe the whole province) has ever seen. Everyone is frightened, exhausted, and stir-crazy, but Gander welcomes visitors from around the world and aims to ease the concerns of their shared trauma.
My favorite Come From Away character is pilot baddie Beverly Bass, played in this production by Karin Hendricks-Bolen with practical wisdom and an unsinkable spirit. The entire cast is applause-worthy, bringing humor and personality to this heartfelt tale of human decency.
See PCPA’s sweet and robust production of Come From Away under the stars at the Solvang Festival Theatre through June 27. See solvangtheaterfest.org, pcpa.org/shows.
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