Week 2 Flashcards
Come From Away as a
conventional musical
This musical uplifts audiences by
celebrating the good sides of human
nature even in the darkest of times
* It employs several traditional song
types:
* Establishing number: “Welcome to the
Rock”
* 11 o’clock spot number: “Me and the
Sky”
* Examples of underscoring and musical
scenes
* The cast includes 2 romantic (albeit
atypical) pairs: Diane & Nick, Kevin
& Kevin
The show is based on oral
histories: in interviews with
the creators of the musical,
real-life people provided
accounts of what happened
when 9/11 diverted 38
planes and 7,000 people to
Gander, Newfoundland. The
show uses the September
11th terrorist attacks as a
backdrop. Is this a musical
about 9/11?
CFA creative duo
David Hein and Irene Sankhoff, a
Canadian husband-and-wife
team with relatively little writing
experience
size of CFA cast
12
is there a main character/ protagonist in CFA
no
is there a central love story in CFA
no
musical unconventional parts
The score consists of mostly
ensemble numbers and few solos
* The band includes instruments
that are traditional to
Newfoundland
* The musical is performed in one
act with no overture,
intermission or entr’acte and it
lasts only 100 minutes
* There are few opportunities for
applause
What is Come From Away about?
This musical is based on a true story about Gander, a
small Canadian community that welcomed strangers in
the days following 9/11
* Caring for the people on these aircrafts was called
Operation Yellow Ribbon
* The idea for the musical came from Michael Rubinoff, a
lawyer, theatre producer, and a past Associate Dean at
Sheridan College. In 2011, he established the Canadian
Musical Theatre Project and is now overseeing
productions of Come From Away around the world and
producing new shows
Who created CFA
Rubinoff brought his idea to several
musical theatre practitioners;
David Hein and Irene Sankoff, a
writing team who did My Mother’s
Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding
(2009), decided to take on the
project
* Rubinoff, Hein, and Sankoff visited
Gander in September 2011 for the
10th anniversary commemoration
for the pilots and “Plane People”
and conducted hours of interviews
as part of their creative process
Where is Gander?
Gander (population
12,732) lies in the
northeastern tip of the
island of Newfoundland
in the province of
Newfoundland and
Labrador
* Newfoundlanders call
non-Newfoundlanders
“come from aways”
where did CFA start
sheridan
What did the road to Broadway
look like for mid-century
musicals?
- The composer, lyricist, and bookwriter create their show
- Find a producer to finance the show
- Perform backer’s auditions to raise money
- Find a director
- Hold auditions and hire actors
- Rehearsals
- Pre-1970s: Out-of-town tryouts for 4-6 weeks in front of an
audience (popular destinations: New Haven, Boston, Philadelphia);
period of rewriting and revising - Previews in Broadway-designated theatre in NYC
- Opening night
Composers, lyricists, and bookwriters CFA
Irene Sankoff and
David Hein
CFA source
Michael Rubinoff proposed Operation Yellow Ribbon as
an idea for a musical
new york fun CFA
12 March 2017-2 October 2022
Performances CFA
1669 (49th longest-running Broadway musical)
Tony awards CFA
Nominated for 7, won 1 for Best Direction of a
Musical
bodhran
a
traditional Irish drum
made of goat skin,
provides the heartbeat of
the score
ugly stick
is a traditional
Newfoundland
percussion
instrument
made of
household
items
uilleann (“ILL-
in”) pipes
are a type
of traditional Irish
bagpipes that
produce a soft sound
suitable for indoor
performances
* Listen for these
instruments and the
rest of the band in
“Heave Away” and
“Screech Out,” which
accompanies curtain
calls
Establishing number
Conveys the location, introduces main characters, and sets the tone and mood of the show
I am/I want” song
Establishes something essential to the audience’s understanding of character and situation
Charm song
Pleases and delights with an optimistic tone and celebrates the positive values and experiences of
life
Musical scene
An extended piece of music in which dramatic action is set to music; includes underscoring. What’s
underscoring? Speech (rather than song) accompanied by music
Production number
A number with song, speech, and dance, typically including all or most of the cast
