Every live theater production relies on two main groups. The actors. And the audience.
The best of us know our roles and stick to them.
For example, I excel as an audience member who buys a ticket and takes a seat. I know my place, and it is not on the stage.
Once, I was coaxed into a small part at the Alhambra Theatre for a skit to kick off one of The Big Read programs. It was a bad idea having me on stage. I spent my brief time in front of the audience trying to tamp down a panic attack. Lesson learned.
But for a split second Thursday evening at the Alhambra, I almost forgot my place when my husband and I went to see “Come From Away” by Hopkinsville’s community theater group, Campanile Productions.
It was a line about whiskey that briefly threw me off. Hold on. I’ll explain.
The musical “Come From Away” tells the true story of Gander, Newfoundland, in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. North American airspace was shut down and 7,000 passengers aboard 38 planes were diverted to Gander. Over the next several days, townspeople in Gander and a few surrounding communities took in the stranded travelers. It is a remarkable story of generosity and hospitality.
I was especially eager to see “Come From Away” because in 2005, I spent a week in Newfoundland reporting stories about another major world event — the Dec. 12, 1985, air crash at Gander that killed 248 soldiers who were returning to Fort Campbell from a six-month deployment to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
As I described in a column several weeks ago, the people I interviewed in Gander helped me understand that they were capable of mobilizing an extraordinary response to feed and house 7,000 strangers.
So back to the local theater … I settled into my seat Thursday evening, ready to be entertained by the cast of “Come From Away.”
I was hooked from the opening scene. It all made sense. These Gander people. Their accents. Their easygoing authenticity. Their can-do attitude. Who wouldn’t love them?
And then one of the cast members playing a man named Derm, the mayor of neighboring town Appleton, started trying to convince a hesitant passenger named Bob, from New York, to come stay at his house. The New Yorker thought there must be a catch. No one was that generous.
So our friendly Newfoundlander Derm says, “Come on in, son. The Irish Whiskey’s in the bar downstairs.”
And as soon as I heard that line, I remembered Derm Flynn and his wife, Dianne. They invited me to dinner in their home in 2005. I ate moose roast and potatoes from their kitchen. And I had a drink in that bar in their basement!
The same Derm. The same whiskey. The same hospitality.
I almost forgot my place and jumped out of my Alhambra seat to holler at the reluctant New Yorker on the stage.
I came close to shouting, “Bob, don’t be crazy. Get yourself down to Derm’s whiskey bar! It’s a real place.”
But I didn’t. I remembered my place. The Campanile cast had things moving along just fine.
It was a great performance. If you’ve never seen a Campanile show, you’ll have a chance later this year when they stage “A Christmas Carol” in December. We’ll share more information closer to the performance.
(Watch a recent Canadian news interview with Derm and Dianne Flynn here.)
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
