At its core, the Tony Award-winning musical “Come From Away” is a story about how communities respond to crisis with generosity and compassion.
The production, opening March 14 at the Angus Bowmer Theatre in Ashland, tells the true story of 7,000 airline passengers stranded in Gander, Newfoundland, when 38 planes were diverted there after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. In the days that followed, residents of the small Canadian town housed and fed travelers from around the world.
Despite widespread fear and uncertainty in the days after the attacks, Gander residents welcomed people who spoke different languages and came from different backgrounds.
“One of the lines that I think is super powerful in the play is that the reason this area was chosen was that the casualty count would be low in comparison to landing in other places,” director Laurie Woolery said.
Even with that grim reality, she said, the community chose to welcome the stranded passengers.
“It becomes an incredibly moving story about being a good neighbor,” Woolery said.
Tribute to Ashland’s resilience
Woolery said the story resonates with the Ashland community, pointing to moments when residents have rallied to support one another, including after the 2020 Almeda fire, when the Oregon Shakespeare Festival campus served as a distribution site for relief supplies.
“I really wanted this play to be a love letter and a thank-you letter to this community and the people who have supported this festival over the decades,” she said.
Woolery said the production centers on a simple idea: recognizing shared humanity and choosing compassion over fear.
Influenced by the musical’s Celtic-inspired score, the choreography emphasizes communal movement while reflecting the physical strain of the experience, including scenes depicting passengers sitting on grounded planes for hours.
The production features many longtime Oregon Shakespeare Festival performers. Ten of the 12 cast members are returning company actors.
Among them is David Kelly, whom Woolery described as the “artistic mayor of Ashland.” Woolery said the familiarity of the cast reinforces the musical’s focus on community.
The production required actors to portray multiple role with minimal staging.
Choreographer Min-Sook Hitt said the goal was to develop a movement style that felt natural as actors shifted between characters within seconds.
The staging uses simple elements, including chairs rearranged to represent locations such as buses, planes and restaurants.
Event
- “Come From Away” runs March 14 through Oct. 24, 2026, at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Angus Bowmer Theatre in Ashland.
Guests
- Laurie Woolery, director
- Sunny Min-Sook Hitt, choreographer
