STERLING — At first glance, “Come From Away” doesn’t look like a Broadway blockbuster.
There are no towering sets, elaborate costumes, or cast of dozens. Instead, audiences encounter 12 actors, a handful of chairs and tables, and a story so compelling it has become one of the most celebrated musicals of the modern era.
Sterling Community Theatre Troupe will present the acclaimed musical as part of Sterling’s Old Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration this week at the Betsy Dutton Theatre at Sterling High School at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, July 2 and 3 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 5.
Written by Canadian husband-and-wife team Irene Sankoff and David Hein, “Come From Away” grew from interviews conducted in Gander, Newfoundland, where residents and stranded airline passengers found themselves brought together during the events of 9/11. The writers discovered not simply a story of tragedy, but one of kindness, hospitality, and community.
The musical became an international phenomenon, playing on Broadway, London’s West End, and stages around the world. This year it will become the most-produced musical in the United States, with more than 500 productions scheduled, including eight in Kansas. Sterling’s production is among the first.
One of the show’s most distinctive features is that 12 actors portray more than 150 characters. With the addition of a hat, jacket, accent, or change in posture, performers transform instantly from airline passengers to pilots, local residents, reporters, and community leaders.
“The actors playing multiple characters is one of the show’s greatest strengths,” said director Dennis Dutton. “It reinforces the idea that this isn’t just one person’s story. It’s everybody’s story.”
The staging is equally inventive. Broadway Director Christopher Ashley and choreographer Kelly Devine developed what theatre fans call “chair-ography”—a carefully choreographed system in which actors move chairs and tables to create airplanes, buses, schools, bars, and many other locations.
When “Come From Away” was released for licensing, the creators included extensive documentation from the original Broadway production, giving other theatres access to staging concepts rarely made available.
“This is the first time we’ve actually had a Stage Guide Manual for a show,” Dutton said. “We’ve still had to work a lot out for ourselves, but it has been immensely helpful and also challenging.”
Filled with unforgettable music, inventive staging, humor, and heart, “Come From Away” offers a theatrical experience unlike any other—and a reminder that extraordinary things can happen when ordinary people choose kindness.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students and will be available at the door before each performance.
