The story of September 11, 2001, has been told many times. Around the world, folks over 30 years old likely have vivid memories of hearing about and watching the events unfold of the World Trade Center toppling. It was an awful and tragic time, not just for the United States but the entire world, too.
September 12, 2001, tells a different story: People coming together, putting differences aside, and showing love + compassion to one another as the healing process began.
One of countless feel-good stories is told in the musical Come From Away. It’s not a 9/11 story; it’s a 9/12 story.
Come From Away’s national tour will stop in Cleveland for one week only, from Tuesday, August 13 through Sunday, August 18. {Details and tickets}. The show’s associate conductor, Sarah Pool Wilhelm, phoned CleveRock ahead of the engagement to discuss the production.
“The show is based on a true story of the planes that got diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, which is at the very tip of Canada, on 9/11, when the American airspace was closed. But the show is actually about the five days that followed, while all of the passengers were stranded there, and just the kindness and how all of the people of Gander took care of these people that didn’t even have their luggage,” she explains. “They only had the clothes that were on their back from when they were flying that day. They didn’t get their checked luggage or anything. The people of Gander just offered a helping hand, genuinely opened their homes, and made sure that they had a good experience. It took humans taking care of other humans for five days.”
The daughter of a retired pilot, Sarah is proud to be part of the show. The positive message that is delivered to the audience is important to her.
“It makes me feel really good. I do my best to observe and exude the same kind of kindness that these Canadians, specifically in this show, did during that time. I can definitely tell the audience is on their toes. We make them laugh; we certainly make them cry. We don’t let them clap very often, which I find very interesting and different about the craftsmanship of this show,” she said. “One of the things the writers have said is that the people of Gander didn’t stop for five days, and so the show shouldn’t stop. When we are learning the show, we’re told not to wait for the audience’s reaction. There’s going to be reactions, but we need to keep the story driving and the momentum going. We actually don’t actively let the audience clap except three times in the whole show for 100 minutes, which feels like a long time. But I think it helps. I just have another perspective on it, and I believe we can continue to offer that same kind of goodness to everyone.”
Of the countless shows on Broadway, at other major theater hubs around the world, and touring productions, there is no shortage of ‘big’ shows to which actors and musicians can lend their talents. Sarah was asked what attracted her to this production of Come From Away.
“I would say there are two reasons. One is that I really enjoy doing theater that makes people think. For entertaining shows. I think there’s also a place for them, and they’re really fun to do as well, but I just think that especially back then in 2001 and right now, we could really use some extra kindness in the world. And I think that this show leaves you thinking about your interactions with other humans, whether you know them or not. I really enjoy leaving, feeling like I left an impression on the audience,” she said. “And the second reason that I’ve always been particularly drawn to this story is because my dad actually worked for American Airlines. He retired from there, and he was not a pilot; he was the manager of capacity planning. So I grew up in DFW because he worked there, and so does [Come From Away character] Beverly Bass. One of the people whose story we tell in this show also graduated from TCU, which is where my parents went to college and met. So there’s always been a particular connection, particularly the Beverly Bass story. And when she sings ‘Me in the Sky,’ when she says, ‘coming ’round past the field, then the wheels touch the ground’, keeps the anticipation building and the anxiety that we were all feeling those days, no matter where you were in the world, but especially us Americans. There was so much anxiety coming those few days, and I mean months after. And I think that the show helped build that anxiety at the same time, while also maybe offering a different outlook. I think it also can be a little bit therapeutic that there is some other story that came out of those five days that can make us feel a little bit better.“
In Come From Away, there is no orchestra pit. The musicians are on stage and part of the show! This makes Come From Away unique. Sarah explains:
“It’s really fun and very different from most other musicals that we do. We’re all on stage. The drummer is backstage, but he does get to come out and take a bow at the very, very end. We’re on stage and we actually get to get up from our chairs a couple of times and be in on the action, which is just very fun and very different than your normal musical.”
As the associate conductor, the absence of the orchestra pit puts a different spin on Sarah’s job.
“I can’t see all of my musicians as well as I would in a pit, but we do have a camera, a conductor camera, so they have a little mini monitor of me on each of their music stands, and so I’m still able to lead them all in the same way that I would if I were in the pit,” she explained. “It can cause a little bit of a challenge because some musicians aren’t used to being on stage, and so there are other things that come with it. We have to put on a costume, and you have to prepare a little bit. Your pre-show is a little bit different. Normally, you might just show up to the theater in your black clothes already, whereas we have to arrive at the theater and then get changed, and then get on stage and make sure we’re not being distracting or anything like that. We almost have to be a little bit of actors at the same time, which I find to be very fun, and I think the rest of us do as well”
So, Sarah, why should Clevelanders come to the theater when Come From Away is in town?
“I think people should come see Come From Away because it’s a feel-good story that helps spread kindness throughout the world.”
© 2025 CleveRock Music Portal. A PROUD SHAPE CLEVELAND PRODUCTION