INTERVIEW: Learning the lessons of 9/11 in ‘Come From Away’
Photo: Come From Away tells the story of a community in Newfoundland, Canada, that welcomes travelers from around the world on 9/11. Photo courtesy of Matthew Murphy / Provided by Polk and Co. with permission.
Come From Away, which has been playing to sold-out crowds on Broadway for a few years now, continues to grab the hearts of audience members and instill a sense of hope in the world and its communities. The wildly successful production is now a resident of London’s West End and also tours around the globe, bringing these vital lessons to musical fans yearning for original content and perhaps a solemn, life-affirming spring in their step.
On Broadway, at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, the company of Come From Away has welcomed Kenita R. Miller to the ensemble. She plays Hannah, a woman who has a devastating personal connection to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Hannah is but one character in the social fabric of Gander, Newfoundland, a small community on the eastern shores of Canada that welcomed thousands of travelers as their planes were diverted following 9/11. The resilient and scrappy locals spare no expense in making sure these stranded passengers have a sense of home, peace and healing while they await news of what’s to come.
Miller came to the show through the old audition process.
“I had actually never had the chance to see the show, but I heard all the beautiful things about it,” Miller said in a recent phone interview. “I knew what it was about, but I wasn’t familiar with it otherwise. So even going into the audition, I was going in a little bit blind, just knowing on good faith the good energy around it, and then once I started to go into the rehearsal process, just completely fell in love with the show. And I got to watch the show a bunch of times, and I think cried every single time, and even going into the show, still cried the first few shows just because it’s extremely infectious. It was a beautiful surprise.”
That infectious quality is largely because the characters in Gander don’t simply wait and listen for news of when everyone can leave the small town. The locals truly gave these global visitors a sense of that indomitable Newfoundland spirit, which means some drinking, some singing, some dancing, some soul-searching, some weeping, some commiserating and, most importantly, some distraction.
The character of Hannah is at the center of this simultaneous exuberance and sorrow. She is deeply connected to another character on stage, Beulah (Astrid Van Wieren), a local who gives Hannah some peace of mind.
“She does have a sad story,” Miller said of her role. “As far as her humanity, I think the thing that I feel from her so much is her strength and her resilience. She was so dedicated to finding out what happened with [her son], and just her resiliency of hope is something I think challenged myself. Do I have the same degree? And I think that I’m learning a lot through her strength and having to kind of conjure what that would be. My experience, of course, was completely different on 9/11. … I think that’s what mainly comes out is her resiliency. That’s the main word that I can think of when I think of her when I’m trying to embody her because I could easily be so emotional. I think I could go into a black hole, and this woman still carries her head high, you know, and is still capable of loving and existing in this world.”
Miller admitted that she has a wide range of musical tastes, and she appreciates many different genres and cultural offerings. The folksy score of Come From Away, which is influenced by the local Canadian traditions, was something new to her, and she has fully accepted its bouncing rhythm and upbeat tempo.
“The essence that they have put into the music is also infectious,” she said of Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s original score. “They put a beautiful mechanism together with the show, with the music being the big, driving heartbeat of it. They were very soulful in their choice of music and also it being so authentic, even to some of the flutes that are in there and the drum especially, which is a big heartbeat of the show. They did a beautiful job, and it’s something that you don’t have to think too hard about. You can easily just allow it to happen, allow the music to happen, and the words don’t feel like heavy labor. I am completely in love with the score.”
Another aspect of Come From Away that Miller appreciates are the real characters on stage, many of whom are based on actual people in Gander or people who visited the Newfoundland town. As the storytelling unfolds, their authenticity becomes apparent.
“They did a beautiful job of putting human beings up on stage in a very authentic way,” said Miller, who has also appeared in Broadway’s Once on This Island, The Color Purple and Xanadu. “You are hearing and seeing human beings express and tell this story, and I think that’s something that has been very gratifying and refreshing. I don’t know how else to say it then it’s easy to slip into because it’s so well-written, and I get to play such a human being on stage, a fully realized person. I think this is something that any performer would hope for in whatever role they’re doing. I’ve been blessed to play a lot of beautiful characters and fantastic, magical beings, and I think [Hannah’s] magical in her humanity. I think that has been very, very special with this particular role.”
Miller has been interested and passionate about the performing arts since she was a child. Her father was a musician, and although no one in her immediate family was a professional singer, she was a “busybody” when she was younger, trying to soak up every type of artistic endeavor.
“So my parents put me into dance at a young age, but I thought I wanted to sing jazz music when I was in middle school and high school,” she said. “I had teachers that thought I had these three different abilities. The third being I’m just a dramatic person in general. I think my parents would say that, too, but my teachers really helped me. [They said], ‘Do you know that there’s a vehicle that you can do all three of these in?’ And I kind of fell in love then, more so really got the bug in high school. My teachers also got me into community theater, and I took classical voice. But I really fell in love with the challenge of having to put the acting with the singing, and then the dancing on top of that. I kind of love the challenge of it. That bug hit me in high school.”
And that work early on in life has paid off with a successful career on Broadway and now in Gander, Newfoundland.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Come From Away, featuring Kenita R. Miller, is now playing the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway. Click here for more information and tickets.
