On September 11, 2001, 38 planes with 6,579 passengers were stranded in a remote town in Newfoundland. The locals opened their hearts and homes, and hosted this international community of strangers for a week - spurring unexpected camaraderie in extraordinary circumstances. When the world stopped, their stories moved us all.
It is at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on King Street W until February. We had tickets to see it last Saturday night but someone from Mirvish Productions called on Friday to say they needed tickets for a VIP and would we mind giving up ours. If we did, we could go another night AND I would receive a refund for our tickets ($318). Needless to say, I said "yes" said we'd go tonight instead.
The set was fairly minimal and they used it well.
Here are me and Gord ...
On September 11, 2001, when terrorist planes were crashing into towers in New York, planes "from away" were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland. Over night, with about 7,000 passengers, the town's population doubled in size. The citizens of Gander opened their arms and hearts and did all they could for the "plane people". This is their story from the viewpoints of a cop, Gander's only reporter, the mayor, a local SPCA employee, a teacher, an American Airlines pilot, a gay couple, a traveler from England, a woman whose son is a NY firefighter and more.
Like last time, the acting was fabulous with the actors playing multiple roles, moving effortlessly back and forth with different accents, and it was obvious which role they were in. There was singing and dancing. It was funny and it was sad. It was hard not to get caught up in it. The generous nature of the Newfoundlanders came through. The audience showed their appreciation with a standing ovation. At the end, the band, which included a fiddler (an alumni from the university I graduated from), an accordionist and a couple guitarists, played a song at the end.
We enjoyed it just as much the second time around..
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