<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1zhEcg_1F68nC3M00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1zhEcg_1F68nC3M00" width="1029" height="675" ></figure>THE SHOW MUST GO ON: The cast of “Come Sail Away” is proving resilient after the historic Wells Theatre and equipment were severely damaged by torrential rains and flooding. A great way to help the theater company is to buy a ticket and experience this excellent performance. “It’s a wonderful company.&nbsp;I’m&nbsp;such a fan of everything&nbsp;they’ve&nbsp;done… everything&nbsp;I’ve&nbsp;been able to see,” says&nbsp;actress&nbsp;&amp; jazz singer Liz Brydge, early&nbsp;in our&nbsp;recent phone chat about her role in&nbsp;Virginia Stage Company’s upcoming musical that opens the company’s 48th&nbsp;season. “So&nbsp;I really am thrilled to make my debut, and to just be on the Wells Stage…&nbsp;That’s&nbsp;such a beautiful theatre and space. And the history there. I am excited all the way around,” continues Brydge, who along&nbsp;with her husband, bassist and jazz composer Chris Brydge,&nbsp;are very prominent contributors to our local jazz scene here in Hampton Roads.&nbsp;It’s&nbsp;about a week before rehearsals begin for VSC’s&nbsp;production of&nbsp;“Come&nbsp;From&nbsp;Away,” the acclaimed Broadway musical&nbsp;that chronicles a fascinating, real-life story born out of the&nbsp;aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.&nbsp;The show is being produced in partnership with Christopher Newport University, with previews set to begin early next month.It’s a strong start to VSC’s upcoming season, as the Tony award-winning musical was a big hit on Broadway, and its national tour played Norfolk’s Chrysler Hall for a few performances that began in February 2023. The Virginia Stage Company run also coincides with the 25th anniversary of 9/11.With a large cast of at least 15 actors&nbsp;—&nbsp;Virginia Stage Company’s&nbsp;“Come&nbsp;From&nbsp;Away,” which is being directed&nbsp;by&nbsp;Producing Artistic Director, Tom Quaintance, features main cast members playing multiple characters.&nbsp;Liz portrays Beulah Davis, who&nbsp;as a character was inspired by two real&nbsp;Newfoundlanders, Beulah&nbsp;Cooper&nbsp;and Diane Davis. “So&nbsp;Beulah&nbsp;in&nbsp;the show… She&nbsp;works at an elementary school. She is one of the first people that jumps into action and starts making sure that&nbsp;people are cooking food, they are finding beds…”&nbsp;says the actress, who endured three sets of auditions to land&nbsp;a pivotal role in this unique, one-act musical.&nbsp;Other cast members include&nbsp;ShaaNi&nbsp;Dent, who plays&nbsp;Hannah, a character that bonds with Beulah. Wallis Herst portrays Bonnie&nbsp;Harris in the show.&nbsp;Local native actor, Donovan E. Mitchell occupies the character of Bob, while actor John Cauthen, who has had many stand-out roles in prior VSC productions, portrays Nick/Doug.&nbsp;Actress&nbsp;and singer Marika Aubrey&nbsp;plays Captain Beverley Bass, in her VSC debut, which follows&nbsp;her acclaimed work as the&nbsp;same&nbsp;character in the first national tour of&nbsp;the&nbsp;hit musical.With its book, music and&nbsp;lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein,&nbsp;“Come&nbsp;From&nbsp;Away”&nbsp;recounts the story of 38 planes&nbsp;carrying approximately 7,000 passengers, being forced to land at Gander International Airport in Canada’s&nbsp;Newfoundland, in response to the September 11 attacks.&nbsp;Sankoff and Hein spent time in the town of Gander, and their&nbsp;characters are based on&nbsp;residents,&nbsp;and&nbsp;some of&nbsp;the stranded&nbsp;airplane&nbsp;passengers with&nbsp;whom they fed and housed.&nbsp;It&nbsp;premiered on Broadway&nbsp;at the Gerald Schoenfield&nbsp;Theatre on March 12,&nbsp;2017, where it&nbsp;remained&nbsp;until&nbsp;the beginning of&nbsp;October&nbsp;2022.&nbsp;The show also had a&nbsp;successful,&nbsp;lengthy run&nbsp;in London’s West End.&nbsp;The musical garnered seven nominations at the&nbsp;71st&nbsp;Tony Awards, where it took home the award for Best Direction of a Musical.&nbsp;And the Broadway run received positive reviews from prestigious newspapers like&nbsp;The New York Times&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Washington Post.&nbsp;Actor Jenn Colella&nbsp;received&nbsp;the&nbsp;lion’s&nbsp;share of acting noms, as part of the Broadway cast, for her work as Beverley/Annette.&nbsp;Songs from the show include “Phoning Home,” “Darkness and Trees,” and “Me and the Sky.”After chatting with Liz, I&nbsp;spoke&nbsp;with&nbsp;NYC-based&nbsp;actor Travis Murad Leland,&nbsp;who plays Kevin J in the&nbsp;show.&nbsp;Like Liz, the California native, who is also a film producer,&nbsp;is making his VSC debut, and&nbsp;is excited to come down to Norfolk for the&nbsp;show’s significant September run.&nbsp;“This is an incredible&nbsp;show. And&nbsp;I’ve&nbsp;actually auditioned&nbsp;for various productions of&nbsp;‘Come&nbsp;From&nbsp;Away’&nbsp;for many, many years… When it was still running on Broadway. I remember auditioning for it there. And then&nbsp;auditioning&nbsp;for the tour,” says Leland. “And then subsequently&nbsp;so many regional theatres&nbsp;have been doing the show.&nbsp;So,&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;certainly one that has crossed my path a lot. And this is the first production&nbsp;I’ve&nbsp;actually been&nbsp;cast in…&nbsp;so&nbsp;that’s&nbsp;kind of amazing,” he continues.&nbsp;He was able to audition for Tom and the casting director,&nbsp;during&nbsp;the final round of casting, up in New York City.“I’ve done a good amount of research on the show,”&nbsp;the actor later&nbsp;says. He tells me&nbsp;he’s&nbsp;currently knee-deep in the script.&nbsp;“With this show specifically, you&nbsp;gotta&nbsp;be learning&nbsp;before you get there on the first day.&nbsp;There’s&nbsp;so much material in this show. And it moves&nbsp;very fast. And it is only&nbsp;a one-act,”&nbsp;he adds.&nbsp;Despite his preparation, he is equally excited and terrified,&nbsp;he tells me.&nbsp;Regarding&nbsp;the show’s&nbsp;huge&nbsp;success&nbsp;and embrace by audiences&nbsp;over&nbsp;these&nbsp;many&nbsp;years,&nbsp;Leland believes that the 9/11&nbsp;subject matter is a powerful connector to&nbsp;the show.&nbsp;It’s&nbsp;also sobering, we both agree… that there are now adults who&nbsp;weren’t&nbsp;even born when the 9/11 attacks occurred.&nbsp;“I also think that there is something that’s&nbsp;magical in the way that they created the show, with how simple&nbsp;the storytelling&nbsp;is.&nbsp;It’s&nbsp;tables and chairs. And it relies on great storytelling, great actors, and a lot of movement…”WANT TO GO?“Come From Away”Through September 20 Presented by Virginia Stage Company Wells Theatre </div></body>

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THE SHOW MUST GO ON: The cast of “Come Sail Away” is proving resilient after the historic Wells Theatre and equipment were severely damaged by torrential rains and flooding. A great way to help the theater company is to buy a ticket and experience this excellent performance. “It’s...

Large Cast Sails Back to 9/11

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THE SHOW MUST GO ON: The cast of “Come Sail Away” is proving resilient after the historic Wells Theatre and equipment were severely damaged by torrential r

Large Cast Sails Back to 9/11

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