Must-see: Human spirit shines bright during Engeman production of Come From Away

On Wednesday, September 10, Claude Elliott, mayor of Gander, Newfoundland for 21 years, walked from the Northport Hotel to the Village dock. He met 15 people on his walk, “and every one of them said ‘hello’ or ‘good morning’ to me,” Elliott said. 

Used to the small town feel of villages like Northport, Elliott likes to count people he passes on the street. While mayor of Gander, Elliott oversaw his town’s response to thousands of stranded airline passengers immediately after the September 11 attacks. He was in Northport Village to see the Engeman Theater production of Come From Away, about Gander’s response in the wake of the attacks, and one of the most-produced professional musicals in the past decade. 

Come From Away first premiered in 2013 in Oakville, Ontario as a developmental workshop. It officially opened on Broadway on March 12, 2017. It’s a global hit too, with multiple international productions. 

On Thursday, September 11, 2025 Come From Away debuted at Engeman, marking the theater’s 100th production since opening in 2007. Elliott, who spoke to the audience during a pre-show ceremony, said it was his 131st time watching the musical.  

It was an especially poignant moment for theater co-owner Kevin O’Neill, who used to work at the World Trade Center and lost friends in the attacks. “The world tried to do what it could to recover, heal wounds,” he said. Four and a half years later, his wife’s brother, John William Engeman, was killed by an IED while stationed in Iraq. His death occurred right at the time O’Neill and his business partner, Richard Dolce, were in discussions about a possible new business. “It was a business concept. The Northport theater was a business concept at one point,” O’Neill said. “And then on May 15, 2006, when my wife Patti got a phone call that her brother was killed, this all changed significantly for me, and it became the John Engeman Theater. We’ve all worked very, very hard over the last 18 years to contribute to the community in a real positive way.”

A musical about September 11?
Come From Away co-writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein traveled to Gander and spoke to dozens of residents about their experiences following 9/11. A musical about September 11 was proposed to a handful of other writing teams before them, “and they all thought it was a terrible idea,” Hein said. “But it meant a lot to us.”

Hein, who spoke alongside O’Neill, Dolce, Elliott and other guests before the Engeman production, was in New York City during the 2001 terrorist attacks, living in a residence for international graduate students. That morning, people from the community knocked on the students’ doors to spend time with them. “Some of them were friends, some of them were just strangers. So strangers from around the world took care of us on that day. When we heard the story, it resonated with us…. We saw a lot of kindness in the days following 9/11; we also saw kindness when we traveled to Newfoundland. Every single person we met was generous with their stories,” he said, noting the stories seen on stage were authentic and shared from the heart. The people from Gander welcomed him and Sankoff, just as they did the thousands of stranded passengers in the aftermath of the attacks. 

“It was incredible the kindness that we saw,” Hein said. He mentioned both the people of Gander and the passengers who were stranded there, including Hannah O’Rourke, whose real-life story is the inspiration for the character Hannah in the musical. “She welcomed us into her home and told us about her son and welcomed us into her family,” he said. Hannah’s kindness “meant the world to us, and it’s one of the reasons why we didn’t want to write a 9/11 story. This is a 9/12 musical.”

Come From Away is about what happened after 9/11, Hein said. “It's about light in response to darkness and kindness in response to hate. And what we've learned…in times of crisis, you can be a helper. And we've seen around the world that everyone wants stories like this and that they’re important to tell.”

The story of Gander 
When the U.S. shut down its airspace on September 11, 2001, Canada launched Operation Yellow Ribbon to land incoming international flights safely on Canadian soil. Many transatlantic jets were re-routed to airports in Atlantic Canada. Gander – the first North American stop on that route – was one of the busiest receivers, taking in passengers from 95 countries. 

When Gander International Airport was constructed in the late 1930s (before jets existed), it had the largest airport in the world by area. The thinking was simple: planes needed a spot to refuel before crossing the Atlantic and Newfoundland was perfectly placed on the “great circle” route between Europe and North America.

The Gander airport’s geography and size made it an important transatlantic pit stop throughout history. During World War II, Gander became a major ferrying point for Allied aircraft heading to Europe. Its runways saw thousands of military planes pass through, giving it a key role in the war effort. In the era before long-range jets, nearly every transatlantic passenger flight stopped in Gander to refuel. Celebrities, heads of state, and everyday travelers all passed through the small Newfoundland town, making it – at times – far more cosmopolitan than its population suggested. Because it was designed for heavy wartime use and big aircraft, Gander’s airport can handle wide-body jets and a large number of flights even though the town itself is tiny. That’s exactly what made it so crucial on 9/11, when dozens of international flights had to be diverted there.

Gander itself took in 38 jumbo jets (commercial and military) that day, bringing 6,600 passengers and crew into a town whose population was under 10,000. Gander’s population increased by almost 70% in just a few hours. 

The immediate challenge was basic logistics: feeding, housing, and caring for thousands of people with different customs, languages, diets and needs. Local authorities, school boards, churches, community centers, the Salvation Army, sports halls and private homes were pressed into service; people volunteered food, beds, clothing, translators – whatever was needed. The town organized emergency operations and multiple local command centers to coordinate the response with little to no prep time. 

The stranded passengers, not fully aware of just what was going on behind the scenes, awoke that first morning in Gander to the smell of fresh bread.

“The greatest asset in your community is your people,” Mayor Elliott said. “And when the people come out, there’s nothing that they can’t do. And we proved that. We didn’t ask what religion you were, we didn’t ask who you voted for. All we know is that we’re human beings, and we need to love everybody and show them. I believe that this is why this story has been told worldwide, and continues to be told, because if ever there was a time in our world when we needed good news, it’s now.” 

The kindness exhibited in Gander countered the tragic events in America; the “islanders” in Gander and neighboring communities opened their doors and hearts to the stranded passengers, arranging hot meals (approximately 21,000 meals a day!) and even hosting small cultural welcome events, including a screech-in – a ceremony performed on non-Newfoundlanders, known to natives as a “come from away” or “mainlander.” Depicted dutifully and with great joy in the musical, the ceremony involves a shot of screech (a trademark Jamaican rum with a touch of Newfoundland charm), a short recitation, the kissing of a cod and a whole lot of celebration.  

Bob (portrayed endearingly by Brandon Alvión), a Black New Yorker diverted to Gander while on his way home from Europe, is one participant in the screech-in. At first skeptical about how he might be treated in the largely white community, Bob is taken in by a neighboring mayor who shares his home with him and calls him “son.” Upon his return to New York, Bob’s dad asks him if he was ok when he was stranded in Gander.

“How do I tell him that I wasn’t just ok – I was so much better,” Bob says.

Real-life characters
The character of Bob is a composite character, based on two or more “plane people” merged into one role. Several characters however, are single-person portrayals, including Claude (John Scherer), the mayor; Beverley (Christina DeCicco), the show’s pilot character based on the real Captain Beverley Bass, an American Airlines captain diverted to Gander on 9/11 who, in 1986 captained the first all-female crew in the history of commercial jet aviation; and Oz (Chris Donovan), drawn from Oswald Fudge, one of Gander’s police officers who appears in the story.

Nick and Diane (Bart Shatto and Michele Ragusa), who share an on-stage romance sparked in Gander, are based on a real couple who met during the diversion, as are “The Kevins” (Christopher Bemke and Nasir Ali Panjwani), who experience some relationship challenges during the show.

A timely reset
In his opening remarks to theatergoers just prior to the show, Dolce noted the timing of the performance, held on the 24th anniversary of September 11. “We gather to reflect on the lives lost, the courage of heroes, the power of compassion that rose from tragedy,” he said. “Thank you for joining us, not only to remember, but to carry forward a legacy of unity, hope and extraordinary kindness.” 

The message resonated.

The kindness, resilience and incredible power of human connection exhibited in Come From Away isn’t just commentary on the events that immediately followed September 11. It’s a reminder that during fraught times, empathy, perspective and altruism are necessities for survival – at least mentally. 

The backdrop for Come From Away is one of the darkest days in modern history, but the story shines a light on how humans responded to tragedy with generosity. It’s about finding light in darkness, hope in despair and laughter in uncertainty. 

Instead of collapsing under the weight of a precarious situation, the residents of Gander discovered new strengths. The show asks: what if the whole world acted like Gander did?

We can collapse under the weight of it all or we can bake bread. We can be paralyzed with fear or mobilize. We can gather supplies and hunker down alone or we can help others. 

Reverend Rachel Vione of First Presbyterian Church in Northport was in New York City on September 11, 2001, interning at a church on the corner of 55th Street and Fifth Avenue. “We got word that Tuesday morning that something had happened at the World Trade Center, and later we knew that it was a terrorist attack,” Vione told the theatregoers.  She and the other clergy opened the doors of the midtown church. 

As survivors of the attack made their way uptown, shaken and in disbelief, some entered the church just to have a place to sit and be safe. “At the end of the day, I realized that I was covered in dirt and blood from hugging the people who staggered by,” Vione said. 

“I remember feeling helpless, like there should really be some magic words to say or some explanation to give for why this happened, but all I could do was to reach out in love and compassion to those who were in need around me. In the weeks and the months ahead, we held funerals and memorial services at the church for those who had been killed. They weren't church members and necessarily people of faith, but they were families in need of love and kindness and compassion, and that's what we offered them,” she said. 

In Come From Away, Hannah O’Rourke is an Irish mother on one of the diverted planes. Her son Kevin is a firefighter in New York City; Hannah spends her time in Gander desperately trying to reach him by phone. Because communications were down or jammed, she can’t get news of her son’s whereabouts – her anxiety is palpable. 

Hannah connects deeply with Beulah, a local Gander woman whose son is also a firefighter.  Their shared motherhood creates a bond that carried well past Hannah’s time in Gander; Beulah became Hannah’s stand-in family, giving her strength when she couldn’t be with her son. The two kept in touch for decades after September 11. 

The real-life Hanna O’Rouke passed away on August 10, 2025, at 91 years old. Her son Dennis and his wife Liz were in the Engeman Theater audience on September 11; Dennis led a rousing standing ovation for the entire cast at the end of the show. 

Community and kindness
The 9/11 Memorial Remembrance pre-show ceremony at Engeman was a feat in logistics and love, bonding through meticulous planning the spirit of the Canadians in Gander with the Northport theater community. Members of the Northport Pipe and Drum Band performed prior to the Northport American Legion’s march toward the stage. Jenifer Dolce sang the National Anthem. A moment of silence preceded a tribute to our fallen community members, with the names and photographs of over 40 Huntington residents killed by the terrorist attacks displayed on a screen. 

Consul General Tom Clark from Canada presented Dolce and O’Neill with a Canadian flag before the show began. While here, former Mayor Elliott visited Northport High School to give a special presentation to students about Gander’s extraordinary role on September 11, 2001. The camaraderie felt authentic and meaningful. 

Come From Away, the musical and the people who inspired it, showcase how the human response to crisis can ripple forward in unexpected, beautiful ways. Those ripples were evident live and in person at the Engeman Theater on September 11 and, from the energy that left the theater after the show, will continue to cascade through the community for a long while.  

“Whenever tragedies like this happen, people often ask me, ‘Why? Why would God allow such evil in the world?’” Reverend Vione said in her opening remarks. “And I don't know that I have any good answer to that question. I didn’t 24 years ago, and I don’t today. But I think the better question to ask is, How are we going to live in light of what has happened? How are we going to love our neighbors? How are we going to shine a light in the world of darkness and decay, how are we going to live in a way that honors those we have lost? I suspect there are a lot of people here tonight from many different faith backgrounds. I don't know where you are in your journey of faith or what your beliefs are, but what I do know is that things like this – welcoming the stranger in our midst, loving our neighbors as ourselves, reaching out in love and compassion and showing peace and love in our communities – are all things that we can agree on. That way, the darkness and the violence and the hatred and the ignorance will not have the final word on today, and evil will not win.” 

Come From Away is playing at the Engeman Theater through November 6. The performance schedule is Wednesdays at 7pm, Thursdays at 8pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets may be purchased by calling 631-261-2900, going online at engemantheater.com, or visiting the Engeman Theater Box Office at 250 Main Street in Northport.