An Impossible Task
When creators Irene Sankoff and David Hein first traveled to Gander, Newfoundland, on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, they faced a monumental challenge. They collected over 16,000 stories of unthinkable kindness and bewildering logistics when 38 planes
were forced to land, nearly doubling the town's population in an instant. The question wasn't whether there was a story, but how to wrestle this mountain of verbatim interviews, conflicting timelines, and raw emotion into a 100-minute musical. Early grants allowed them the time to quit their day jobs and begin the writing process, but the sheer volume of material was overwhelming. The initial workshops, including one at Sheridan College, showed promise but also revealed structural problems. Songs, scenes, and even characters were cut as they struggled to find the show's core.
The Original Opening That Didn't Land
The version of 'Come From Away' that first workshopped in 2013 opened very differently. While details on the exact original song are scarce, reports from the development process indicate the beginning was much slower and perhaps more somber. It struggled to immediately convey the unique energy and spirit of the Newfoundlanders. In a story that could easily tilt into darkness, starting on the wrong foot risked losing the audience from the outset. The creative team, including director Christopher Ashley, realized that to tell a story about chaos and fear being met with radical hospitality, the show couldn't ease its way in. It needed to drop the audience directly into the heart of Gander, establishing the town’s quirky, warm, and resilient character before the planes ever appeared on the horizon.
The 'Welcome to the Rock' Epiphany
The breakthrough was the creation of 'Welcome to the Rock' as the opening number. This explosive, stomping, Celtic-infused anthem became the show’s mission statement. It masterfully introduces a dozen characters in a matter of minutes, establishes the distinct 'Newfie' dialect, and paints a vivid picture of a town that is both isolated and deeply interconnected. The song functions like a whirlwind orientation, introducing the police constable, the schoolteacher, the SPCA worker, and the TV reporter, all going about their ordinary Tuesday morning. More importantly, it establishes the central theme: 'They say no man's island, but an island makes a man'. By the time the song ends with the thunderous arrival of the diverted planes, the audience isn't just watching a town; they feel like they know it. This wasn't just a new song; it was a new foundation.
How One Change Unlocked Everything
Placing 'Welcome to the Rock' at the top had a profound ripple effect. It gave the show its propulsive rhythm and its unique narrative device, where actors seamlessly switch between playing Gander residents and the 'come from aways'. This rewrite set a precedent for the entire show's structure: fast-paced, ensemble-driven, and built on a bed of community spirit. Director Christopher Ashley’s Tony-winning direction hinges on this constant motion, transforming 12 actors and a handful of chairs into airplanes, buses, and bars with military precision. Without the energetic launchpad of the new opening, the show's signature style might have felt jarring or chaotic. Instead, it became the very engine of the storytelling, allowing the musical to feel both epic in scope and deeply intimate, a decision that was honed through extensive out-of-town tryouts in San Diego, Seattle, and Toronto.
