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STRUTHERS -- Watching "Come from Away" can be emotional any time.
Watching it on the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people only intensified the experience.
However, Top Hat Productions didn't need its calendar timing to deliver an impactful show. The talent on stage opening night at the Fairview Arts & Outreach Center would have resonated at any time and any day of the year.
The musical by Irene Sankoff and David Hein is based on the true story of the travelers that day whose flights were diverted to a remote airport in Newfoundland after all air travel halted. The townspeople of Gander and other small Canadian communities came to their aid, providing food and shelter, as well as compassion and a desire to make an agonizing situation a little more bearable.
The story doesn't shy away from heartbreaking moments and touches on the discrimination Muslim travelers (and anyone who might be mistaken for a Muslim) faced in the aftermath of the attacks, but "Come From Away" is a feel-good musical and one with far more laughter than one might expect and even a little romance.
It just became available to community theaters. Top Hat is the first theater to do it in the region, but Millennial Theatre Company already has a production scheduled for November. I'm sure there will be others.
Top Hat sets a high bar for those who follow. "Come From Away" is a true ensemble show, and I'm not sure whether to refer to Melanie Lucas as the director or the air traffic controller for the way she expertly maneuvers and juggles the actors and multiple storylines.
More often than not, all 17 actors are on stage at the same time, and all of them play multiple characters. An actor will go from playing an American or foreign traveler to a Newfoundlander within the span of 30 seconds with only a slight costume adjustment. Instead, those transformations rely on the actors' voices and physicality and mannerisms, and it's a testament to the skill of the performers and the director that they pull it off without leaving the audience thoroughly confused.
A few of the characters get more stage time than others, but this is a rare show where it feels like a disservice to everyone else to single out any one performance either as actors or vocalists.
The cast features Amy Burd, Connie Cassidy, Kai Green, Sarah Kinser, Renee Johntony, Michelle Jones, Connie Leathers, Jessica Ludovici, Alex MacDuff, Diane Marie, Sarah Martz, Marissa McKenzie, Al McKinnon, Patience Miles, Brian Palumbo, Dan Pappalardo and Julie Palumbo Villa. Every single one of them excels.
The excellence is off stage as well. There are people the audience never sees who help the actors with the quick character changes. The lighting design by tech director Jeff Chann, along with some rearranged wooden chairs, allow the set to go from the cramped confines of an airliner to a Canadian bar to the great outdoors. The choreography by Keith Stepanic feels loose and natural and fitting for the tone of the show.
"Come From Away" is a musical about how compassion, kindness and understanding can emerge from even the greatest of tragedies. Another thing that can emerge from those moments -- proven by Sankoff's and Hein's script and every element of Top Hat's staging of it -- is great art.
The musical played to a full house opening night, and those who dawdle in getting tickets will miss a spectacular flight.
WHAT: The musical "Come From Away"
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday through Sept. 20
WHERE: Fairview Arts & Outreach Center, 4220 Youngstown-Poland Road, Struthers
HOW MUCH: Tickets are $19.50 and are available online at tophatproductions.thundertix.com.