Come From Away, on Apple TV Plus, is the filmed version of the award-winning Broadway musical which tells the true story of 7,000 people who were stranded in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, after the United States closed off its airspace following the tragic events of September 11, 2001. As the people of Newfoundland graciously welcome the “come from aways” into their community in the aftermath of this unspeakable act of terror, the passengers and locals alike process what’s happened while finding love, laughter, and new hope in the unlikely and lasting bonds that they forge.
In this Goggler exclusive, we got the chance to speak to writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein, and director Christopher Ashley, about their approach to adapting the musical for the small screen, as well as why this pandemic ridden moment is the perfect time for this movie.
Umapagan Ampikaipakan: First of all, Chris, Irene, David, I have to say thank you, because as someone who lives in Kuala Lumpur, I would never have had the opportunity to watch this if not for Apple TV Plus. So, thank you for making this happen. It was absolutely beautiful. My question has to do with process. Watching a Broadway production on your screen is undoubtedly going to be a very different experience from watching it on stage. What was your approach to shooting this and adapting it for the screen?
Christopher Ashley: I really wanted to capture the essence of the stage production, the essence of those 12 actors playing hundreds, and thousands of people, and the simplicity of how you can be in a new place, in a bus, and then a plane, and then a living room, just by everyone turning their chairs and sitting differently.
But I also wanted to make a film and try to use all of the tools of cinema to get right in there and see all the nuances of what’s happening. I wanted you to be in close up, to be behind the action, shooting back toward the audience, or in the wings, or in the grid, on top looking down. I wanted to capture the way that a camera in motion, on a dolly, or a Steadicam, creates energy that works with the music.
So my hope is that we are telling the story that captures the essence of the stage production, but also gives you the excitement of a film.
UA: Why now? What is this such a perfect moment for Come From Away?
Irene Sankoff: I think it’s a story that we need now more than ever, about how even under trying and terrible circumstances, we always have a choice to be there for one another instead of responding in fear and anger. I mean, those feelings are always going to be there, but we do have a choice on how we respond to one another within our community.
David Hein: Yeah, it felt like such a unique opportunity, especially during the pandemic, to not only capture our film and welcome back our cast, and crew, and band, all of whom were out of work at the time, but also to see it from a new angle. Irene and I have seen the show a million times, and we never get tired of watching it because it’s this amazing magic act. But to now see it in the way Chris saw it, from the side, from the top, from the back, and to be able to share that new way of telling the story with the audience is incredible. To be able to point out all the little Easter eggs and say, “look at that.” It’s really unique and wonderful to see it in a whole fresh new light.
CA: We filmed this in the middle of the Broadway shutdown and the audience was having their first experience back in a theater after a whole year. So the emotion in the audience was extraordinary. The laughs were louder, the silences were quieter…
UA: Let me tell you, I was hooting, and hollering, and laughing, and crying the whole time. And I was in my living room. I can only imagine what it must have been like in that theatre on that day.
CA: … when the actors first walked on stage, there was a roar of sound from that audience that came from having been stuck in their living rooms for a year and finally being back in the community experiencing art.
Come From Away premieres on Apple TV Plus on Friday, 10 September. This live performance of the musical was filmed at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City, for an audience which included 9/11 survivors and frontline workers.
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