COME
FROM
AWAY

DIGITAL LOBBY DISPLAY

Explore additional resources and materials about the people and places that serve as the basis of Come from Away. Click on the blue links below to learn more.

• Dramaturgy Note

A look into the considerations our team had for Come from Away including current resonances, historical context, and lasting impact.

• An Introduction to Gander, Newfoundland by Clara Bonell

Gander (YQX) International Airport, once an essential meeting place of the world where planes on transatlantic voyages stopped to refuel.

• The Real People Behind Come From Away

Contains details/spoilers of the lives of the real people dramaticized as significant plot points in Come from Away.

• Fun Facts and Anecdotes

Music director Cynthia Kortman-Westphal has a long history with Come from Away, and collected the above stories and facts through the real people Come from Away is based on, and through members of the original creative team.

• The Impact of 9/11 on Muslim Communities

• Changes in Commercial Aviation as a Result of 9/11

38 airplanes parked on the runway at Gander International Airport following the closing of the United States Airspace on September 11th, 2001.

• Lou Best's Story

Lou Best was a passenger aboard a flight from Paris to San Diego when the attacks occured, and was diverted to St. Johns, Newfoundland. Her story encapsulates the light that was created when the world was going through an incredibly dark time.

• Marcia Perry's Account of Being Among the "Plane People"

The Flight 15 Scholarship

The Flight 15 Scholarship was created by passengers aboard Delta Flight 15 which was diverted to Gander following the attacks on September, 11th 2001. In the dramatization of Come from Away, the scholarship is presented by the character Bob, but in reality was established by Shirley Brooks-Jones who we have had the pleasure of connecting with while crafting this production.

• Donate to the Flight 15 Scholarship

Explore additional resources on the production and its history curated by University of Michigan Music Librarian Jason Imbesi.

• UM Library Guide

Dramaturg: Karin Waidley
Associate Dramaturg: Kendal Bazerman
Assistant Dramaturgs: Clara Bonell, Tate ZeleznikConsultants: Dr. Nazita Lajevardi, Aisha Siddiqui, Omar Elghawy, Sari Bovitz, Marcia Perry, Diane Marson, Nick Marson