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A review by jenbsbooks
Come from Away: Welcome to the Rock: An Inside Look at the Hit Musical by Irene Sankoff, David Hein
slow-paced
4.75
I was 30 years old, with three little boys when 9-11 happened. I remember hearing the news as I got my oldest off to kindergarten. My baby, just turned one, took his first steps that day. I've learned more about the day from various books ... [book:The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11|43821581], [book:102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers|177187], [book:The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland|148775] ... that last one must have triggered some Facebook advertisement algorithm, because an ad for "Come From Away" the musical appeared in my feed. This was mid-2023, and I mentioned it to Hubs (it was touring and would be in our city the following year) ... and he bought us tickets. May2024, we went to see the show. It was great. A filmed version of the Broadway production was also available on AppleTV, so I watched it in the comfort of my home, with subtitles, to catch every word. I don't remember how I stumbled upon this book, but I went ahead and ordered it. I'm generally a digi gal, ebooks and audio, and this took me a bit to get through, but it was a unique read.
Here, we get additional history of Gander, the airport, and events that day. Then ... there's the script of the show, word for word. There were added notes, with more information about this or that, little tidbits that were so fun and interesting. Lots of pictures. More additional info, on the authors, how they got the idea for the show, the funding the first steps of the writing, then production. Interspersed, more pictures, and more of the script, with notes and additions.
Even just a copy of the script would have been interesting ... to read it, and remember the music and the scenes. But all the background information, and new insights, asides ... just made something that was already very personal, even more intimate and connected. I especially loved the stories of the real people, meeting the actors playing them, lots of compelling stuff there.
This definitely has a target audience ... you have to have seen the show, liked the show, to appreciate this book. But it will have a special spot on my bookshelf now.
Here, we get additional history of Gander, the airport, and events that day. Then ... there's the script of the show, word for word. There were added notes, with more information about this or that, little tidbits that were so fun and interesting. Lots of pictures. More additional info, on the authors, how they got the idea for the show, the funding the first steps of the writing, then production. Interspersed, more pictures, and more of the script, with notes and additions.
Even just a copy of the script would have been interesting ... to read it, and remember the music and the scenes. But all the background information, and new insights, asides ... just made something that was already very personal, even more intimate and connected. I especially loved the stories of the real people, meeting the actors playing them, lots of compelling stuff there.
This definitely has a target audience ... you have to have seen the show, liked the show, to appreciate this book. But it will have a special spot on my bookshelf now.