Jan. 30—LIMA — Lima’s Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center will get a new musical on stage this Thursday night that will bring a different take on a major historical event.
“Come from Away”, a musical depicting real-life events during 9/11 that took place in Newfoundland, Canada, will make its next performance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
“It really runs through all of the emotions,” Danny Arnold, who plays multiple characters, said. “There will be laughter, crying and it will make you think, which are all of the things a good piece of art is supposed to do. And it does it in such a beautiful way for a 90-minute show with no intermission.”
The musical, which is the story of 7,000 stranded passengers, was written and directed by Tony nominees.
“In the days following 9/11, some planes were grounded in a little town in Newfoundland called Gander,” Arnold, who plays Oz said. “And it’s about an unbelievable story of kindness and selflessness. People had to take of others in the face of catastrophe.”
Arnold said that performing in the show, which tours until August, has been the opportunity of a lifetime.
“It’s one of my favorite shows,” he said. “I saw it on Broadway and I knew that I had to be in it someday. I get to live that dream every night now.”
But it has been hard work performing every night for the company.
“It’s exhausting, I’m not going to lie,” Arnold said. “It’s amazing and exhausting at the same time living out of our suitcases on the road. But it’s incredibly rewarding and getting to bring this show to places that would never see it has been great.”
It will all be worth it, though, if the audience gets to take the clear message of the performance home with them.
“We are in such a state of needing kindness toward others,” Arnold said. “I think that’s the biggest thing because it’s so infectious when you watch something like this. It starts small and hopefully, if we could be kind to each other then it will grow in people being kind all over the world.”
And Arnold promises that the unique show will deliver.
“If you come to see it, you’ll understand why it’s really not like anything you’ve ever seen before,” he said. “It’s very honest. It’s a real ensemble show, meaning that there aren’t many leads because everybody is a lead and we all work together to get it done.”
To learn more about the show or purchase tickets, visit the Civic Center website.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
