Weathervane Playhouse director Melanie YC Pepe dove so deep into “Come From Away” research that she became Facebook friends with real-life Gander, Newfoundland, residents Diane Davis and Beulah Cooper — people who inspired Beulah Davis, a composite character in the award-winning musical. Pepe got connected by Weathervane ensemble cast member River Collands, whose godmother is Diane Davis.
The musical follows the true story of when 38 planes — carrying thousands of international passengers — were grounded in Gander in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The people of Gander took them in. The writers of the show did around 1,000 interviews in Gander to mold characters and dialogue.
“The more you learn about it, the more it becomes important because it’s real people,” says Kevin Lambes, who is the choreographer for the show and the executive director of Weathervane.
“When the worst moments hit us, we need to remember there’s still a lot of kindness and goodness in the world,” says Pepe, who is also the chief executive/artistic director of Weathervane. “That’s really what the story is about.”
Running from Sept. 11 to Oct. 12, Weathervane’s production marks the show’s Ohio community theater premiere. With no intermission, the fast-paced 1-hour, 40-minute production mimics the frantic nature of the harrowing time period for its 20 cast members.
“That’s something we are going to lean into — just driving through the story, energy and purpose,” Pepe says.
The first of the whopping 37 musical numbers and underscore sections is “Welcome to the Rock.”
“What’s really fun about the opening is it really underscores the energy and the resilience of the people who are on this island before anybody else shows up,” Pepe says.
Lambes’ choreography reflects that the characters represent real people.
“It really has to lean into natural sort of movement,” says Lambes. “You have to use a vocabulary that talks to what people do in their everyday life.”
The musical moves so rapidly that there are minimal set pieces. Instead, chairs create settings. There are so many chair movements that Pepe and Lambes lettered all 20-some chairs and have blocking for each.
“The chair represents locations in Gander. They represent planes. They represent buses. They pretty much rarely leave the stage,” Pepe says. “How we set the chairs helps the audience understand where we are and what we’re doing.”
It’s all set to jubilant, traditional Newfoundland folk rock, played by musicians onstage with unconventional instruments like an accordion and fiddle.
Character storylines include a romance, a breakup, a pilot guiding her flight and a mother searching for news about her son in New York City. Pepe is focused on intermittently slowing down the pace to create intimate moments for characters.
“The story arcs are beautifully written and intricate,” Pepe says. ‘You just have to make sure they don’t miss them. … You can do that with lighting. You can do that with blocking. You can do that working with the actors in the way they share the material.”
Lambes and Pepe hope to honor the people of Gander and how they showed the world a model of what to do when adversity strikes.
“It’s moving because it’s kind, because it’s hopeful, because it shows the best of what we can be,” she says.
1301 Weathervane Lane, Akron, 330-836-2626, weathervaneplayhouse.com
Mal McCrea
Mal McCrea
Mal McCrea
Mal McCrea
Mal McCrea
Mal McCrea
