Quarantine Playlist

 March 2020

This was my last post for All Things Broadway's blog, which is no longer online. It sort of fizzled out due to the virus shortly after this. We have come a long way since I wrote it nearly 3 years ago, and I am grateful we now have vaccines and have learned a lot more about COVID. But it has still been a difficult time, and we are not out of the woods yet.

Masked up on Broadway, September 2022
(You may notice the picture is backwards,
as this is the back of the sign)

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These are scary times. With the coronavirus going around, many of us are stuck at home. Many with jobs are working from home. Many are out of jobs. Many people have the virus. Life has changed drastically in the past few weeks in ways nobody could have predicted.

The theatre community and other kinds of artists have been hit hard. Broadway and the West End, as well as multiple other locations around the world where shows are produced, have temporarily shut down. Actors like Aaron Tveit and Chad Kimball are currently recovering from the virus. We’ve lost some of our older actors, such as Terrence McNally and Mark Blum to it. [Update, 2022: We have even lost younger actors, such as Nick Cordero, since I wrote this.] During this time it is easy to go stir crazy with our social distancing and avoiding large groups. Many of us have varying degrees of sickness. Depending on our mood at the time, there are any number of things we need to hear.

Sometimes we want to commiserate about the problem. Sometimes we need cheering words. We need to laugh. But we also need to be sensitive about words that may help one person, but will be harmful to another.

Since music and theatre are often healing balms, I thought it might be helpful to come up with songs that may be helpful during this time. Depending on your situation, please feel free to listen to ones that you find helpful and ignore ones that don’t speak to you. Everyone’s taste is different, and I tried to find a variety of different kinds of songs that speak to different needs during this crisis. They follow, in no particular order.

“You’ll Never Walk Alone”
From Carousel
This is a great reminder. So many of us are lonely during this time while we are physically distant from each other. No matter what goes on, we need to remember someone is always there rooting for us, in spirit if not in person. We need to remember to “walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain, though your dreams be tossed and blown.” You will never walk alone.

“No One Is Alone”
From Into the Woods
This is a similar reminder. We may lose people we love and admire, but we are never alone. We need to come together and support each other. Let us lean on each other and support each other.

“Pile of Poo”
From Emojiland
The release of the cast recording of Emojiland could not have come at a better time. Sometimes we need reminders to “remember who you are is what you do when life hands you a pile of poo.”

“Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”
From Les Misérables
This time is incredibly difficult for everyone. Odds are you know someone who has the virus (you might even have it), and thousands around the world have died from it. Sometimes we need to lament those we have lost. We need to let our emotions out or we will go crazy. [Update, 2022: Having lost my dad to a stroke since writing this, this song is even more emotional and meaningful to me.]

“Prayer”
From Come from Away
This is one of my favorite Broadway songs, and a constant source of comfort. We need to pray (whatever that means to you) for peace, and we need to work to spread it. Let’s be channels of peace, not divisiveness.

“Spread the Love Around”
From Sister Act
This is another song encouraging us to spread love and kindness to others. Everyone is having trouble right now, and we all need to give and receive love.

“My Favorite Things”
From The Sound of Music
These are scary times. Sometimes we need to distract our minds by thinking of things we like. “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,” among many other things, can be very comforting. Simple things can be powerful.

“Impossible”
From Cinderella
With everything going on right now, sometimes we are tempted to conclude that the idea of things getting better is impossible. Will our governments agree on anything? Will we find a vaccine and cure for the virus? Impossible! “But the world is full of zanies and fools who don’t believe in sensible rules, who don’t believe what sensible people say! And because these daft and dewy-eyed dopes keep building up impossible hopes, impossible things are happening every day!”

“You Will Be Found”
From Dear Evan Hansen
This is another source of comfort. Life is tough. Especially right now when we are distancing ourselves from each other, it’s easy to feel alone. But always remember, even if you feel lost and alone, “someone will come running.” There are people there who will find you and reach out to you. You can even be that person for someone else. Let’s find each other and support each other through this tough time.

“The World Has Gone Insane”
From Jekyll & Hyde
This is sung by a desperate man who is feeling the effects of a terrible disease that is slowly consuming him. He begins the song as a frantic doctor and ends it as an evil maniac. I hope nobody goes through the horrifying transformations he does, and thankfully that isn’t a symptom of coronavirus, but I think many of us can identify with Henry Jekyll more than normal.

“Singin’ in the Rain”
From Singin’ in the Rain
Rain is a funny thing. Sometimes it can be refreshing, and other times it can be annoying, and sometimes even dangerous. But there’s always a positive side. Rain can cause a person to slip, and it contributes to erosion, but it also washes away bad things and nourishes the ground, making things greener. Coronavirus is much more dangerous than rain, but there have been reports all over the world of pollution clearing up, canals in Venice becoming clear. That doesn’t diminish the horror of sickness and death, but there is always a silver lining, and always a reason to sing.

“Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”
From Spamalot
I find it interesting that this song is so common at funerals. In the midst of unspeakable pain and sorrow, we can always find a bright side.

“The Next Right Thing”
From Frozen II
This isn’t technically a stage show (yet), but it’s important to remember. Since it is so new, I don’t want to spoil it, but Anna is going through a very difficult time, and all she can do is “the next right thing.”

“Put on a Happy Face”
From Bye Bye Birdie
I grew up listening to this song. It has never failed to bring a smile to my face. Whatever is going on, no matter how difficult, remember it will get better. “Gray skies are gonna clear up. Put on a happy face. Brush off the clouds and cheer up. Put on a happy face.” Sometimes that’s easier said than done, but we can always remember to look forward to this being over.

“Vidiots”
From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
With the advent of the term “COVIDIOTS”, this song has been going through my head lately. I would caution us, though, to go easy on the people in the news reports who have made less than advisable choices during this time. None of us is perfect, and we have all made ill-advisable choices in our lives. Just try not to let your choices spread disease…and definitely don’t be so dependent on technology that you suffer the fate of Mike Teavee. 

“Anthem”
From Chess
This virus has attacked the world. All of us are at risk. The rich as well as the poor. Nobody is immune. At this time we’re all in this together. We need to come together and remember that “my land’s only borders lie around my heart.”

“Cell Block Tango”
From Chicago
Let’s all remember when the vaccine is here, that this virus had it coming. “It only had itself to blame.” I fully endorse scheming a horrible demise for this virus, and it can’t come soon enough. Let’s be sure to take out our revenge on the disease and not people, though.

“Seasons of Love”
From RENT
Hopefully this crisis won’t be around anywhere near 525,600 minutes, but we need to measure our lives in love. Some lives have shorter measurements than we anticipated. Everyone needs to give and receive all the love they can through every season.

“Please Don’t Touch Me”
From Young Frankenstein
It’s important to practice social distancing during this time. Although considering the circumstances, let’s stay farther away from each other than Elizabeth and Frederick during this song. We can always come closer and waltz a foot from each other once this is over.

“Luck Be a Lady”
From Guys and Dolls
We can always trust to luck that it will be in our favor. Maybe we’ll get lucky and it will clear up quickly. But let’s not trust solely on luck. We need to do what we can to help luck along and slow the spread of the virus.

“I Whistle a Happy Tune”
From The King & I
As mentioned before, this is a scary time. One technique when you’re scared is to whistle or sing a happy song. Sometimes that can go a long way to cheering you up and conquering your fear.

“The Play”
From Be More Chill
There’s something therapeutic about listening to a virus being destroyed. If only this one could be defeated with something as simple as Mountain Dew Red!

“One”
From A Chorus Line
You are unique. You may also be one person in quarantine. There is nobody quite like you. You are definitely “one singular sensation,” and I am rooting for you!

“For Good”
From Wicked
Last, but certainly not least, let’s look for the good in each other. This is sung by two dear friends who are saying good bye to each other and realizing that, for all their rivalry and disagreements over the years, they have had a profound and good influence on each other. How have your friends and family influenced you? We need to support and lean on each other during this difficult time if we are going to get through it. Just don’t lean on people literally, as we need to keep our social distance. We also need to remember the loved ones we’ve lost and let them live on in the way we choose to live.

This is by no means a comprehensive list. There are so many other songs out there that are appropriate during this time. But I hope that gets you thinking of songs that might be helpful to get you through this. It will end, and most of us will come out on the other end.

Love to everyone!

Steven Sauke is a Broadway fan who has been through a lot and has been helped considerably through the years by music and art. Much of that has been from musicals.

You Are Here: A Come from Away Story

September 2019

Eighteen years have passed since the horrifying event that ended the lives of so many innocents and left the survivors’ lives forever changed. Fathom Events sponsored the first wide US release of HBO Canada’s documentary You Are Here: A Come from Away Story. It tells the story of the amazing response by several small communities in Newfoundland when thousands of people from around the world were suddenly stranded “somewhere in the middle of nowhere.”

Several of All Things Broadway’s bloggers attended showings of the documentary in different parts of the country. Their thoughts follow.

Taking a Gander at Gander

By Michael Kape

When I arrived home from seeing You Are Here at the local cinema, my house guest asked, “So, how was it?” To which I replied, “I laughed. I cried. I was exhilarated. I was depressed. What more can you ask of a documentary than that?”

What more indeed? For those of us who’ve been blown away (and who hasn’t?) by the perfect musical, Come From Away, the opportunity to see the real people behind the fabulous story was too, too tempting. Onstage, we are charmed and delighted by the generosity of human spirit as exemplified by the people of Gander, Newfoundland. But, it’s a musical. Liberties must be taken with the facts (surprisingly few, actually). Could the real people of Gander be so self-effacing (“All I did was make sandwiches,” one Gander woman says in the film) and so thoroughly delightful at the same time?

Yes, they could. And they are. They are Gander, and it might be one of the most wonderful places on the planet.

We all know the story. On September 11, 2001, 38 planes filled with almost 7,000 scared passengers landed at the Gander airport. And that’s when the 9,000 people of Gander went to work. In five days, as the mayor notes, the Come From Aways (as people not from Newfoundland are called) went from being strangers to being friends to being family. And after seeing the real people behind Come From Away, I truly believe the people of Gander are exactly as portrayed in the musical.

The people of Gander can be uproariously funny as they go about the business of providing (and by providing, I include just about everything humanly possible). They move us to tears at times. Their stories thrill us by just how seemingly ordinary they are (though I would never call the people of Gander ordinary).

Yet, for those of us who remember 9/11, it was one of the most depressing moments in history. For those of us who witnessed the Twin Towers collapse before our eyes (I was stranded in New Jersey looking east from the office patio, and saw the buildings fall), it was horrifying. In a constant battering by bad news, one small story did stand out—the reports of what was happening in Gander. These left us all wanting to know more, but so little information was available at that time, and the efforts got lost in a raging sea of alarm.

No, we must never forget what happened on 9/11, but we should always remember that one single spark of bravura humanity lighting the way from a rock in the Atlantic Ocean. Gander. That sums up so much.

Source: https://www.youareheredoc.com/press

Returning to Gander and Paying it Forward

By Steven Sauke

We sat there in the movie theater staring at those images. We couldn’t look away. Snow flurries blew over a peaceful waterfall at the 9/11 memorial in New York while the audio from the black box on one of the planes played. It went back to the news footage from that horrible morning 18 years ago. It was like I was standing in my living room once again, aghast and emotional after all these years, even though I knew this time what would happen. Watching that plane fly into the World Trade Center. The ball of fire, the sudden gasp of shock, and then New Yorkers running for their lives.

Over the next hour, we would meet the people of the small town of Gander, Newfoundland and surrounding communities, who welcomed nearly 7000 “come from aways” suddenly stranded in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Many didn’t even know where they were at first. At least one come from away found out where he was when he called home and his family told him they had been tracking his flight. So many Ganderites dropped everything and worked together to provide for the needs of strangers. Teachers helped prepare their schools for guests. Bus drivers broke off their strike to transport everyone, because “our beef is with our employer, not these people.” The local news media broadcast the needs as they became known, and the citizens of Gander and the surrounding towns rose to the occasion. Over the next few days, they would offer rides, provide meals, clothes and other essentials. A couple would meet and fall in love. A mother and father would desperately search for their son, a firefighter in New York, and be helped and comforted by the mother of a firefighter in Gander. One plane was delayed leaving Gander because a passenger’s host had taken him moose hunting and they had to track him down. One line that really struck me was when Mayor Claude Elliott said that they welcomed nearly 7000 strangers on September 11 and 12. Soon they had 7000 guests. After five days, they said good bye to 7000 family members. Ten years later, many of the come from aways returned to Newfoundland. Throughout the reunion, visitors and Newfoundlanders alike spoke with a young couple who some took for college students, and were perplexed when they found out this husband and wife were planning to write a musical based on…making sandwiches?

They would be blown away by the result. As one person observed, Come from Away nailed it. The documentary continued through the workshop and Broadway premiere stages of producing the musical. You Are Here: A Come from Away Story was a beautiful retelling and intimate conversation with the people who made it possible. I felt like they were my friends. Since I met some of them a year ago, some of them are.

Rewind a bit.

A year ago, I interviewed several of the come from aways and Ganderites for an article on what happened those five days and following. When the national tour of Come from Away opened in Seattle, many of the people involved visited, and I was hoping to be able to meet some of them. After being showing unconditional love and kindness, Kevin Tuerff founded an initiative called “Pay It Forward 9/11.” Every year, he gives his employees $100 to go into the community and do random acts of kindness for strangers. Last year, I was one of his recipients. He told me he was giving me two tickets to a special screening of You Are Here in Ballard, a neighborhood in Seattle. My brother and I arrived at the theater and were welcomed by the owner, who said, “You are here, so you belong.” When he asked who we were connected with, I explained Kevin Tuerff had invited us. (That owner is well connected, as he appears briefly in the documentary at the Broadway debut.) Come to find out, almost everyone at the showing was somehow directly connected with Come from Away. Many of the come from aways and Newfoundlanders were there. I introduced myself to Nick and Diane Marson and thanked them for the interview. They then introduced me to Bonnie Harris and her sister. After the show, we were standing in the lobby next to Beulah Cooper, and she gave us hugs. Complete strangers. Oz Fudge was wearing his “STFD” t-shirt. Kevin Jung sat down the row from me, as did Brian Mosher and Janice Goudie. We sat behind Bonnie Harris, Beulah Cooper and Hannah O’Rourke. David Hein and Irene Sankoff were there, though I unfortunately did not get to meet them. Kevin Tuerff recognized me, and we got to talk and get a picture. Just now looking through my pictures from that day, I noticed Appleton Mayor Derm Flynn was also there. (Claude Elliott, Beverley Bass and Diane Davis were unable to make it to the screening, but I would get to meet Diane Davis a couple weeks later when she came to the show.) It was an unforgettable day, and I wanted to share this experience with others.

Oz and Lisa Fudge,
Director Moze Mossanen,
Producer Peter Gentile,
Kevin Tuerff

Hannah O’Rourke,
Beulah Cooper,
Bonnie Harris

Photos by Steven Sauke

Fast forward a year, and Fathom Events was finally hosting the first wide release showing in the US of the documentary. Kevin’s lesson is one I have endeavored to put into practice throughout the year, and this time, the opportunity presented itself again. I arranged for my family and two friends to watch the show. It was only after I ordered the tickets that I found out that one of my friends I ordered tickets for would be out of town and unable to make it. Kevin specifically advises showing kindness to strangers, so I posted in the Come from Away Fans Facebook group that I had a free ticket for anyone in the Seattle area who wanted it. I had exactly one taker, so it worked out perfectly. She brought her husband, who got a ticket at the box office, and when she offered to pay me back for her ticket, I politely declined and changed the subject. 

Steven Sauke and Michael Kape are recurring bloggers for All Things Broadway.

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This was a collaborative post that we wrote for the All Things Broadway blog, which is no longer online. I am sharing as much of the post as the respective authors have authorized me to reshare. :-)

Come from Away: Stories and lessons from those who lived it

The news came as a shock. That morning I was emerging from my room when my mom met me in the hallway. “Steven!” she said. I could hear in her voice that something serious had happened. I wondered if I was in trouble for some reason. Her voice trembling, she said, “A plane crashed into the World Trade Center!”

I didn’t know what to think, and it didn’t sink in immediately. Surely it must have been an accident. But what a catastrophic accident! We rushed into the living room and watched as they showed the horrifying footage on the news. It was starting to sink in. Someone in a building near the WTC called in to the news and told the anchors that a plane had deliberately flown into the Tower. Deliberately? Who would do such a thing? It occurred to me that this was the “JFK” event of my generation. My parents remember where they were when they learned of his assassination. I looked at my watch to take note of the date. September 11, 2001. I needn’t have bothered.

As we watched in horror, a second plane slammed into the other tower, causing a massive fireball. This couldn’t be a coincidence. Two planes crashing into two of the tallest buildings in New York within a few minutes of each other doesn’t just happen by accident. By this time it was getting time for me to start preparing for my work day, as Seattle is 3 hours behind New York due to time zones. I took a small radio into the bathroom to listen while I prepared and prayed desperately. The radio announcer related that a third plane had crashed into the Pentagon. We later learned that a fourth plane crashed in a field near Pittsburgh, as the passengers tackled the hijackers.

American Airlines Flight, over the North Atlantic

Meanwhile, an American Airlines plane was flying westbound over the Atlantic Ocean, en route from Paris to Dallas. Captain Beverley Bass got word on their air to air radio frequency that the towers had been hit, and New York airspace was closed. The airspace for the entire country was closed soon after. They knew then that they would need to divert to Canada, initially considering Toronto or Montreal. They then got word that a remote area would be wiser, so they were ordered to land in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland.

Air France, over the North Atlantic

The plane bound from Paris to Newark suddenly dropped in elevation, and passenger Kevin Tuerff, accustomed to flying, looked up at the GPS map on the ceiling of their jumbo jet. He wondered why they were suddenly flying due north rather than due west. Were they flying to the North Pole?

Continental Airlines, over the Atlantic

The flight was bound from Gatwick, England to Houston, Texas. Diane was returning home from visiting her son Mike and his family, stationed in the US Air Force in the UK. On the same flight was an oil industry professional named Nick, whose business took him to Houston. Neither of them knew that tragedy would bring together two strangers from opposite sides of the ocean.

Gander, Newfoundland

Gander Academy French immersion teacher Diane Davis heard of the attacks that morning. She went home for lunch and watched live as the towers fell. She would return to school to teach that afternoon. Her colleagues asked her to help mobilize help, possibly preparing food, and she readily volunteered as a point person for staff. With a staff phone list in hand, she registered with the town of Gander, telling them she had about 50 names and could probably count on half of them helping out. They moved desks and set up computers in the front at three schools, starting with the local high school. By the time they got to Gander Academy, they had about 100 volunteers setting up. After being up for 72 hours straight, she was ordered home to rest. She slept three hours and went back to work. By that time they had 770 people who needed help.

As the people of Gander prepared, so did the nearby towns of Appleton, Glenwood, Lewisporte, Norris Arm and Gambo. Six towns got ready to welcome thousands of people diverted to Newfoundland. Janice Young, a nurse from Lewisporte, worked 12-hour shifts to help people in need. Members of the local media, including Janice Goudie and Brian Mosher, would work tirelessly over the next few days, splitting their time between reporting the news and bringing aid to those who needed it.

“The world changed today, for the worse. Our flight from Paris to New York missed an international terrorist disaster in New York and Washington, DC. (Hijacked planes crashed into WTC & Pentagon.) We’ve been sitting on our plane now for 12 hours (7 now on the ground). All we can do is wait patiently for news about the tragedy, for a place to try to talk to our families. We’ve been told we may have to sleep here overnight (on board). We are fortunate to be alive. Many on the plane cried when we heard the news. Everyone is shell-shocked. No one can imagine what is next regarding our national security. Who can we trust now? Will this heinous crime start a war? All we can do is pray. P.S. Just learned we will soon depart plane and perhaps spend night in school here. At least 30 planes here waiting with stranded passengers aboard.”

So wrote Kevin Tuerff on his in-flight menu, on September 11, 2001. He was travelling with his partner Kevin Jung. Very few people had working phones on the plane, though Tuerff was able to attempt making calls from a first-class seat that a first-class passenger graciously allowed him to use. He didn’t get through because most people in the US were calling each other to make sure everyone was all right. He finally got through to a friend in Amsterdam, who was able to fill him in on what he had heard on the news. He then went back to their seat and told everyone what he had found out. Between trying to call out, watching Shrek twice, and dealing with an upset passenger behind them (Kevin Jung offered her some medication for her nerves, which she declined), they passed the long hours. Their plane was on the tarmac for 15 hours before they were finally allowed to deplane, one of the first of the 38 planes, containing a combined total of 6,579 passengers. They had to leave their checked luggage on the plane, so they were only allowed their carryon items. So Kevin and Kevin had only their bags containing cameras, passports and two bottles of Grey Goose vodka that Kevin Jung had managed to procure in Paris.

In his book Channel of Peace: Stranded in Gander on 9/11, Kevin Tuerff relates what happened when they left the plane. Security at the airport was tight. Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were stationed at the airport. (As another character in the musical comments, “There were soldiers everywhere.”) They went through immigration and customs, and Kevin says, “And that’s when the first wave of unconditional love hit us: the terminal was filled with volunteers greeting us as we registered. It was like we had walked into a party!” The people of Gander had stepped up and provided help and food for their thousands of guests. People had homemade baked food, chicken from KFC, and everything in between. Kevin managed to find a pay phone and call his parents, but had to go, as his ride was there. He watched people at the airport put “Out of Order” signs on the phones so they could get people to the places they were to stay.

Captain Bass’s plane deplaned early the morning of September 12, having been on the plane for 28 hours. She tells me that they “walked into the terminal building in Gander. I was shocked to see all of the food that had been prepared for the nearly 7k passengers and crew members. It was evident the folks of Gander and the surrounding communities had stayed up all night preparing and cooking for all of us. It was so heartwarming. During our 5 days there nearly 285,000 meals were served to the come from aways…as they call folks who are not from Newfoundland.”

The come from aways were housed all over Gander and the surrounding communities. Beverley Bass and her crew stayed at Gander’s Comfort Inn. She mainly stayed put at the inn, as she did not have a cell phone at the time and she needed to know right away if they were ready to leave. Kevin and Kevin were among a large group housed at the College of the North Atlantic. A Ganderite teenager gave them an air mattress, and it deflated the first night. The Society of United Fishermen Hall in nearby Gambo welcomed Nick, Diane, and the other passengers from their plane. Janice Young of Lewisporte hosted a couple British women in her home and helped out at a local church. Gander resident Beulah Cooper aided passengers from an Irish Aer Lingus flight, and filled four rooms in her house with passengers. The people of Newfoundland welcomed strangers into their schools, churches, businesses and homes with open arms. As Mayor Claude Elliott points out in his foreword to Kevin Tuerff’s Channel of Peace, they came from over three dozen countries. (Kevin tells me there were people from more than 90 countries.)

Among the passengers on the Aer Lingus flight was a couple named Dennis and Hannah O’Rourke, returning to New York from visiting Ireland. Beulah Cooper helped them as they desperately attempted to contact their son Kevin, a firefighter back home in New York. She developed a friendship with Hannah, which would be invaluable later when the O’Rourkes arrived back in New York and found that their son didn’t make it. His name is inscribed on the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero:

Photo by Steven Sauke

Diane Davis tells me, “As one of hundreds who helped at the school, I fell into an organizational role. I helped with general information in the office of the school for passengers. Like others, I helped passengers make international phone calls, I did announcements and took notes for captain Burgess when he met his flight. I organized bulletin boards for communication for each flight and helped to answer questions. Other teachers organized food and clothing. Some planned games and activities for children. Some took people home for showers, to sleep, or for laundry. We did not do things that were out of our skill set or extraordinary. We did the same thing we would do for anyone needing help. What is remarkable is how many need help and how many came to give it in the most basic of ways. Food, clothing, a drive somewhere, use of a phone.”

Kevin Tuerff relates that wherever they went in Gander, strangers stopped and offered to drive them to their destination. Others had similar experiences.

Stop the World!

On September 13, as Nick and Diane had been getting acquainted, they decided to take a gander (pun intended) at the nearby Dover Fault. Nick brought his camera, which he pulled out at the lookout. Diane suggested getting out of the way so he could photograph the beautiful scenery, but she didn’t realize that he was more interested in her than the scenery. With a single photograph, he “stopped the world” and preserved a memory that would be a turning point in their lives:

Photo by Nick Marson. Used with permission.

They would return a year later on their honeymoon, and again in 2017 when the town of Dover updated the plaque at the lookout with their story:

Photos by Nick and Diane Marson. Used with permission.

“What Was That Ungodly Screech?!”

During that time, some of the come from aways were “screeched in.” Kevin Tuerff would not have this privilege until 2011 at the 10-year celebration, and his (now former) partner would be screeched in later. The musical explained some of the background behind the Screech in ceremony, but I was still curious about it and asked Diane Davis. She tells me, “The Screech In had many variations. A Google search will get you some info but the Screech is a rum based drink that harkens back to when our salt fish was shipped to Jamaica and the ships came back with rum and molasses. It’s a bit of fun and when well done, it’s a good laugh. Kissing the cod is perhaps similar to the effort it takes to kiss the Blarney Stone in Ireland. You really need to want it bad to do it. I love the Screech in song. Another sing of the musical genius of Sankoff and Hein. Folks will be thinking it’s a traditional song.”

Departure, Tributes and Reflection

After five days in Newfoundland, the planes were finally allowed to leave. Kevin’s Air France flight returned to France, and they found themselves stranded once again, this time in Paris. At the airport, they witnessed a deeply moving show of support there and on the TVs as Europe came to a standstill, cars stopping on the road and people getting out of their cars to observe a moment of silence for the people of America. Europeans stopped what they were doing and stood at attention as “The Star-Spangled Banner” played.

For Diane Davis, “The most moving experience for me was helping to count money from a donation box to put it in the school safe. We were exhausted and my vice principal and I began to cry. There were so many denominations from 4 aircraft that we had to sort it by colour first to try to recognize currencies. There were 2 personal cheques for 1000 made to Gander Academy. When I see the scene of the collection on the aircraft and the passenger writes a cheque, I cry. We were overwhelmed with the gratitude of passengers. I still am by the hugs from strangers.”

A grateful American businesswoman welcomed by the town of Lewisporte took up a collection to fund scholarships for students there. It lasted for years, and both of Janice Young’s daughters benefitted from it.

Come from Away

Years later, the 10-year celebration and the musical Come from Away would serve to bring many people together. Mayor Claude Elliott met Kevin Tuerff at the celebration. Beulah Cooper and Diane Davis met when they learned that they had been combined into a single character named Beulah Davis. (They laughed about having never met before that.) The musical combined reporters Janice Goudie of the Gander Beacon newspaper and Brian Mosher of Rogers Cable into one person named Janice Mosher.

Kevin Tuerff finds the song “Prayer” from the musical particularly moving. He tells me that the “Most moving part of Come From Away for me is the song “Prayer” based in part on the Christian hymn “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace.”  I’d always loved that hymn. It had played in my head for days after 9/11, and was sometimes the only consolation when I would see the continuous loop of TV footage of planes crashing into the World Trade Center. Its lyrics were on my heart when I attended Mass at Notre Dame in Paris on September 16th, 2001. The first time I heard it, I immediately started crying. I never remembered telling the writers about this, Air France lied to us, saying we would leave Gander for New York, but instead they flew us back to Paris. We should’ve just stayed with the kind people in Gander!”

I must say I concur. The first time I heard that song, I was in tears. I love the combined Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu prayers, in addition to multiple languages in one song, all praying for the same thing: peace (shalom in Hebrew, shaantih in Sanskrit) and praise to God (Allah in Arabic).

Response

Kevin founded an environmental marketing firm called EnviroMedia in 1997, and after his experiences in Gander, he started a new initiative called Pay It Forward 9/11. You can learn more about it at Pay it Forward 9/11. Basically, as described in the musical, every year on 9/11, he distributes $100 to groups of his employees and sends them out to do random good deeds for strangers. In this way he hopes to remember the horrific acts of 9/11 and the incredible selfless outpouring of love he was shown by strangers in Gander. He describes some of the deeds his employees have done, and they are truly moving. In this way he hopes to combat xenophobia, Islamophobia, homophobia and racism and replace them with compassion. He calls it a “jump start to the heart.” I highly recommend ordering his book Channel of Peace: Stranded in Gander on 9/11 on Amazon. I now own it in audiobook form (read by the author), as well as Kindle and the physical book. In addition to his story in Gander, and that of many of the others mentioned in the musical, he includes practical tips about how you can do good deeds for strangers. (You can also view the tips on the website for free.) It doesn’t have to be expensive, but he has seen lives changed for the better by some of the simple acts performed.

Similarly, since her retirement from teaching, Diane Davis has been instrumental in helping displaced Syrian refugees in Gander. Kevin Tuerff recently moved to New York so he can help his church to welcome immigrants and refugees there. Beverley Bass enjoys picking up the tab for first responders and others at restaurants. She paid airfare for the family of a member of Come from Away’s band when their homes in Dominica were destroyed in Hurricane Maria. Last summer she took her family to Newfoundland and personally thanked every mayor of every town that helped out.

Accuracy and Repeat Viewings

One thing I asked everyone I interviewed was how accurate their characters were represented in the musical Come from Away. The consensus was that they were very accurate. As mentioned above, some characters were combinations of two people. Kevin Tuerff told me that “The Kevins” actually lived in Austin, Texas rather than Los Angeles. Sankoff and Hein made this change so that they wouldn’t have “too many Texans” in the musical. (He also mentions in his book that they did not go to the Legion for a drink while stranded in Gander, and they were not Screeched In until years later.) Nick and Diane Marson pointed out that they made some minor changes to put everyone in one airplane and one shelter. Beverley Bass is deeply impressed with the way she is portrayed. She tells me that Jenn Colella is an ideal actress to play her. “First of all, she is adorable and has the most amazing voice. She belts out "Me and The Sky" which is my aviation life compacted into a 4:19 second solo, the only solo in the show. Her body language and everything is just the way that I am. We both have similar hair cuts and she used to have blonde hair like me, but has decided to let it go natural and is no longer blonde.” Diane Davis tells me that she personally observed most of what happened in the musical, and it brings back the memories of those events actually happening.

Another thing I asked everyone was how many times they have seen the musical. I believe Beverley Bass holds the record at 106 times as of the time she responded to my questions. Diane Davis hasn’t counted, but she believes it has been at least a dozen times, in Gander, Toronto, New York City and Winnipeg. It makes her cry every time. Kevin Tuerff recently attended his 26^th performance over the course of five years, with his nephew and an African friend who was recently granted asylum in the US. Nick and Diane Marson are at second place among the people I interviewed, at 75 times in six cities and two countries. They tell me it is rewarding to show people who are older and yet have not found their “special someone” that there is still hope. Nick and Diane were “both into middle age, not 20 somethings” when they met. They also feel it is like renewing their vows every time they see it.

Relating to Come from Away

One thing I love about Come from Away is how much I can identify with it. I grew up in the Philippines, but I currently live in the Seattle area. I have also lived in Hong Kong and Montana. Having lived on opposite sides of the Pacific, I often feel like a come from away wherever I go. (“Where are you from?” is a complicated question for me.) In addition, I distinctly remember the events of 9/11. I remember the uncertainty of what would happen. That horrible morning, the hits kept coming. A plane hit one tower. A plane hit the other tower. A plane hit the Pentagon. A plane likely bound for the White House crashed in a field near Pittsburgh. Where would the next plane hit? After I got to work in a Seattle highrise that morning, I wondered if it would hit our building. Would a plane crash into the Space Needle? Our employer gave us the option of going home just in case. I decided that, worst case scenario, a plane would hit our building, and I would be killed and go to heaven. Heaven didn’t sound so bad.

With that in mind, I also asked everyone if there was a way they could relate to the musical.

Diane Davis shared that “9/11 was the hardest I worked ever to do something good, to volunteer, to be a contributing citizen. I am also on Gander Refugee Outreach Committee now and the time and energy involved in welcoming 4 Syrian families to Gander has renewed and polished all those citizen skills. Part of teaching our families was telling them the story of 9/11 and again, David and Irene selected stories that emphasize inclusion, compassion, empathy and community. For me though, the memory that always strikes me is the passengers seeing it on TV for the first time and when I see it on stage I cry. It’s the sense of helplessness, no matter how willing we were, that there was nothing we could do to make this not true or better.”

Nick and Diane Marson tell me, “As we travel to other cities where the show opens, and meet so many new people, we feel like we still are come from aways.   One of our favorite aspects of the show is meeting new people and sharing stories with them.”

Kevin Tuerff says, “As a gay Catholic, I know what it’s like to be marginalized. When I see the scene when the Muslim man (Ali) is scared because of how others are treating him simply because of his religion, it makes me sad. No doubt there was tremendous anxiety about who was a terrorist because the ones who hijacked the planes came from Muslim countries. But they were extremists who disobeyed their own religion. Virtually every religion in the world have one common teaching: The Golden Rule­–Treat others as you want to be treated. I hope as Come from Away goes on tour around the world, people are reminded of this, and take their experience in the theater and incorporate it into their daily lives.”

Tips for Visiting Newfoundland

Another question I asked everyone was where they would recommend going when visiting Newfoundland.

In addition to Gander, Beverley Bass recommends visiting Gambo and Lewisporte, as well as the other “adorable little towns” in the area. As far as restaurants in Gander, she recommends Bistro on the Roe, Rosie’s, and The Gander Bread Box Bakery & Café.. “Everyone is so incredibly nice that you really never want to leave.”

Diane Davis says, “There is a Beyond Words bus tour that will take visitors to the various sites around Gander and does a great job of telling Gander’s 9/11 and aviation history. I like to make sure people see Gander Heritage Memorial Park and read some of the letters at the town hall in Gander. I also recommend the Peace Park in Appleton and visiting all the town halls in the communities where passengers were housed. Gander, Appleton, Glenwood, Lewisporte, Norris Arm and Gambo. Everyone should visit the Dover Fault and sing “Stop the World” too.”

Kevin Tuerff says, “The best place to start a tour of Gander is at the North Atlantic Aviation Museum. They offer a seasons tour of the Gander International airport and several scenes in Come from Away called Beyond Words. I recently took a self-driving tour of other beautiful towns across Newfoundland from Maxxim Vacations, called the Come From Away Experience. The island has absolutely stunning beauty and remarkably kind people.”

Nick and Diane Marson have a rather unsurprising yet exciting suggestion: “Do we ever! Of course we like to see our Newfie families, but ….   Our visit to Dover Fault on Sept. 13th, 2001 highlighted the budding feelings between us…Nick wanted a photo of Diane not the beautiful scenery so that meant he was as interested in me as I was in him...  It is the “Stop the world” moment in our lives and is portrayed as such in the Play.”

Go See Come from Away!

[As of July 2018,] Come from Away is currently playing on Broadway and Toronto. The musical is kicking off its national tour in Seattle in October. (I can’t wait!) The tour is currently slated for Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Costa Mesa, Las Vegas, Portland (Oregon), Vancouver (British Columbia), Edmonton, Calgary, Omaha, Appleton (Wisconsin), Pittsburgh, Greenville, Baltimore, Hartford, Milwaukee, St. Louis, New Orleans, Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, Cleveland, Chicago and Ottawa. The show opens in Melbourne, Australia in July 2019. Tickets are now on sale for the Dublin production, and it runs in London starting January 20, 2019. Tickets are now on sale there as well.

The show lasts 100 minutes, and there is no intermission. It is recommended for ages 10 and up.

You can get more information on the musical’s website, www.comefromaway.com. I also highly recommend visiting www.payitforward911.org for ways you can help spread the kindness that the people of Newfoundland showed to strangers. 

Peter and John Heal a Lame Man and Jesus’ Message Starts to Go Viral

Jesus had taught His disciples for 3 years. They went through a lot together. They watched Jesus do miracles, tell stories called parables, and do all kinds of cool stuff that changed their lives. He taught them to live lives that pleased God. After three years, they were with Him as He was praying in the garden. They were shocked when Judas, one of their own, led the authorities to where He was and let them arrest Him. They ran away. Peter denied he even knew Jesus. Judas was so sad when he realized the terrible thing he had done that he killed himself. Some of Jesus’ disciples watched Jesus die in one of the worst, most painful ways possible. John took Jesus’ mom in and took care of her from then on. Imagine watching your best friend, or your son, die on a cross! Then three days later, Jesus’ disciples got the surprise of their lives when some women discovered that His tomb was empty, and Jesus showed up, alive! Most of the disciples didn’t believe the reports of Him being alive at first, but they believed when they saw Him. Jesus continued to teach and do miracles (including appearing out of thin air to prove to Thomas that He was alive) for 40 days. Then He had them gather on a hillside and told them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” He also said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Then He began to rise into the sky. They watched in amazement as He went higher and higher and disappeared behind a cloud. As they were standing there gaping into the sky, two angels showed up and asked them, “What are you doing looking at the sky? Jesus will be coming back someday in the same way you saw Him go!”

After Jesus went into the sky, the disciples’ first order of business was to find a replacement for Judas. There were only eleven disciples left, and they needed twelve because of a prophecy that said one follower would leave and he would need to be replaced. They had some very specific requirements. They needed a man who had been with them the whole time, from John’s baptism to Jesus’ ascension into heaven. They came up with two men: Joseph (also called Barsabbas or Justus) and Matthias. After they prayed about it, Matthias joined their group.

Ten days later, the Jewish celebration of Pentecost arrived, which celebrated the time Moses gave the Law on Mt. Sinai. Just as Jesus had promised His disciples before He left, the Holy Spirit came on them in the form of tongues of fire. Pentecost was a big deal, and there were people from all over the known world in Jerusalem. They didn’t all speak Aramaic like the local Jews, so they were quite surprised to see Jesus’ disciples with flames over their heads and hear them speaking their own languages! God’s power helped them to speak in languages they didn’t even know! God gave Peter the words to speak, and many people listened to his witness of Jesus and believed that day. So the new Church was born. They loved each other and shared everything with each other. They lived in love and awe of God’s goodness, and with God’s help, the Church continued to grow, more every day.

One day, Peter and John went to the temple to pray. It was about 3 in the afternoon. As they got to the Beautiful Gate (that was its name), which led into the temple courts, a beggar sitting on the ground saw them and asked for money. He had been born unable to walk, and his friends had been carrying him there every day for many years so he could beg for money to stay alive. (Remember how they didn’t have wheelchairs at the time?) He was a pitiful sight, and he was most likely used to people ignoring his pleas for money. So it was a bit of a surprise to him when Peter and John stopped and looked straight at him, and Peter said to him, “Look at us!”

Ah, finally someone who will give me some money! Cool!

Then Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold to give you, but I’ve got something even better. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up! Walk!” Keep in mind this guy had never walked before. Ever.

He stood up!

Then he began to jump! He walked around. The people in the area recognized him as he walked and jumped around the temple courts, and they were shocked! Hadn’t they just seen him sitting there, as he had been for years? What in the world had happened?? He was praising God for healing him!

So Peter spoke up. He said, “Fellow Israelites, why are you so shocked? You look like you think we did this! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has raised Jesus up. You betrayed Him to Pilate, and you murdered Him on the cross. You killed the one who created life, but God raised Him from the dead! We saw that with our own eyes. It is faith in Him that has healed this man.

“Now I know that you and your leaders didn’t know what you were doing when you treated Jesus like a common criminal. The prophets told us ahead of time that Jesus would suffer and die. Great news! You can repent of your sins, and they will be wiped clean! God used Samuel and all the prophets to tell us about these days. He even promised Abraham that He would use his descendants to bless the world. You just need to turn away from your sinful ways and follow Christ!

Needless to say, the Pharisees weren’t too happy about this. They arrested Peter and John and threw them in jail overnight! But that didn’t stop Jesus’ message from continuing to go viral. More and more people were continuing to believe.

The next day, the same Pharisees who had so recently put Jesus to death dragged Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, their court, and asked them, “By what power or name did you do this?”

Just as Jesus had promised, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. He said, “So let me get this straight. We’re in trouble for an act of kindness to a man in need. Right? OK, so here’s the rub. It was done in the name and power of Jesus. You executed Him, and God raised Him from the dead. You can see with your own eyes that Jesus’ power has healed this man! He’s standing! Jesus is the only one who can save us. God hasn’t given any other name in heaven or earth to save the world.”

The Pharisees were surprised that Peter and John talked that way when they hadn’t gone to school and learned public speaking, and they had clearly been with Jesus. They were upset, but they could see that the guy had been healed, and everyone was happy about it. It wouldn’t make them look very good if they punished the guys for an act of kindness! They were confused and weren’t quite sure what to do.

So after talking amongst themselves, they came up with a plan. They told Peter and John, “OK, we’ll let you go this time. But you better stop talking about Jesus.”

To which Peter said, “So what do you think? Should we listen to God or to you? You tell us. We’ve got to keep spreading what we’ve seen and heard. You want us to stop? Not gonna happen.”

The Sanhedrin threatened them some more, but they couldn’t punish them without looking bad, and the man had clearly been healed. People all over the place were praising God for what had happened! This man, who was over 40, had just started walking for the first time in his life!

So they let Peter and John go.