When Love, Hope, and Friendship Prevail

Last week, WICA's Executive Artistic Director Deana Duncan visited Gander, Newfoundland, where diverted flights on 9/11 were sent. What happened next was the inspiration for the touching musical Come From Away, which told the story of a community coming together in the face of tragedy, opening their hearts and homes to strangers.

While in Newfoundland, Deana met many locals who were there that day in 2001 and visited the Derm Flynn Riverfront Peace Park in Appleton, Newfoundland, where there is a monument with a steel beam from the World Trade Center.

“Twenty-five years after this life-altering tragedy, it's important to continue to tell the stories about the ways love, hope, and friendship prevailed,” she said. “We're honored to be able to share in this memory with our own production of Come From Away, which speaks to the importance of community on 9/11 and in the days that followed. This is a story that needs to be told.”

Photo showing the World Trade Center steel beam at the Derm Flynn Riverfront Peace Park in Appleton, Newfoundland

Photo Credit: Deana Duncan

Deana and “Ganderite” Mayor Claude Elliott (a “character” in the play) at Rosie's, the popular restaurant in Gander

Photo Credit: Deana Duncan

Deana and “Ganderite” Beulah Cooper (a “character” in the play) at the Legion Hall where Deana was “screeched” in as an honorary Newfoundlander,

Photo Credit: Deana Duncan