An (Im)Perfect Match

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating is the best book about dating I’ve read in quite some time. This is likely because the main characters, as the title suggests, do not date. Rather, each seemingly content in their friendship sets the other up with a series of – surprise! – unsuccessful blind dates. 

While researching Christina Lauren, I was surprised to learn that Lauren is the pen name for writing duo Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. This dynamic duo has clearly found their singular voice. Great minds think alike as it were. I’ve since read a few other Christina Laurens and will no doubt read their entire bibliography. Their characters are relatable in their imperfection. Each has wants and desires but must balance those hopes with the inevitable fear of failure.

Some readers may see Hazel’s quirkiness as over the top, exaggerated for effect. But as someone who converses in heavy-handed sarcasm, a plethora of movie and TV quotes and who rarely finds reason to be anyone other than exactly who I am, Hazel was a breath of fresh air. And Josh, well, he seems pretty perfect at first glance, but he carries emotional baggage and familial pressures with him everywhere he goes. The inevitable happy ending is evident from the first chapter, but the predictability does not diminish the enjoyment of the journey. 

We All Come From Away

The fact that digesting Come From Away is a challenge I have been working through for six weeks is a testament to the complexity and brilliance that is Come From Away. On its’ face, the story is a relatively simple, if surprising, one for a musical: in the aftermath of the September 11^th attacks, dozens of planes were diverted to Newfoundland and the town of Gander welcomes the grounded “plane people.” Do not be fooled. What Irene Sankoff and David Hein managed to pack into this 100 minute musical is nothing short of remarkable. 

Come From Away has successfully shaken the “musical about 9/11” baggage. And, after seeing the show, it’s easy to see why. While the attacks of September 11^th serve as the impetus for the interaction of these characters, the show is definitively not about 9/11. Come From Away is about the heart and humanity that lives within all of us and the fact that challenges often bring out the best in us. Sankoff and Hein could have hovered near the surface of the inevitable language barriers and culture clashes, but they dove in. Touching on diversity, inclusivity, politics and religion with genuine humor and even more heart, Sankoff and Hein have designed one of the most unique musicals in recent history.

Critical to the success of any show is the music and Sankoff and Hein’s music and lyrics are refreshing. Using the customary Newfoundland sound, the songs are at once traditional and yet revolutionary for a Broadway musical. My obsession with “Me and the Sky” and “Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere” shows no sign of abating. “Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere” is particularly poetic. With uplifting lyrics, a couple of incredible belts from Capt. Bass and a chorus sung by the entire company, it’s impossible not to feel almost physically elevated off the ground:

    Somewhere in between the pace of life and work and where you're going 

something makes you stop and notice and you're finally in the moment! 

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, 

in the middle of who knows 

where (who knows where), there you'll find

Something in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of clear blue air

You found your heart, but left a part of you behind

If the sound of Come From Away is powerful, equally as strong is the set and the choreography between and among the cast and the set. With just a couple of tables and some chairs, the set acts as a multitude of locations: school, airplane, Tim Horton’s and the Dover Fault to name a few. The set transitions happen at the hands of the cast members and each movement is choreographed to the nanosecond. There are moments wherein a delay would result in a fellow cast member face first on the stage but, fear not, the touring cast is up to the challenge.

Just as the set functions for a myriad of locations, all actors portray multiple characters. The adeptness required to become a completely different character with a quick, on stage wardrobe change and then switch back moments later cannot be underestimated. And while Come From Away is perhaps the most true ensemble musical to come along in many years, each performer has moments to shine, and shine they do. But rather than shine above their fellow actors, as sometimes happens during solo passages, each actor seems to bring about a brightening of the entire stage. Come From Away is a small cast – just twelve actors - but because they represent 15,000 people, a certain strength is required. When the full cast sings together, the melody and harmony fills the theater and practically bursts through the ceiling. 

There is one lyric in particular that seems to sum up the show itself: Whether you come from Toledo or you come from Taipei because we all come from everywhere, we all come from away. It perfectly underscores the theme of Come From Away. When we put aside what makes us different we recognize what was true all along, that we are all one human race.