‘Come From Away’ on first national tour, comes to Southwest Florida

“Come From Away,” a musical about 38 planes ordered to land unexpectedly in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, following 9/11, will be at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Center in Lee County this week. The show celebrates human endurance, compassion and bravery under dreadful circumstances.

On stages across the world, actors and actresses have performed a song and highlighted the story of a young girl and her dream of flying. Beverly Bass is from Southwest Florida and took her first flying lessons at Page Field at just 19-years-old.

“I said, ‘I’ll fly for the rest of my life.’ And that proved to be true. I’m going to be 70 in March, and I’m still flying jets,” said Bass.

She became the first female captain at American Airlines. Bass was in the air on 9/11, on a flight from Paris to Dallas, TX.

“We didn’t know whose airlines it was…and terrorism…what did that mean?” Bass said.

That meant that Bass had to land her place immediately. She was ordered to land in Gander, a small town in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland. Bass said neighbors there welcomed her and the passengers with open arms.

“They not only opened their homes or schools, their churches, they opened their hearts,” said Bass.

Now, the story of her landing and Bass’s journey is the center of “Come From Away.” Bass says the story is about beauty birthed out of the pain of a horrible yet historic day.

“‘Come From Away’ definitely focuses on the hope and the display of humanity. We often call it a 9/12 story,” said Bass. “It’s about everything that happened in a positive and good way, after the horrible tragedy of 9/11. ”

This play is not only meant to entertain but to inspire. And, at the center of that inspiration is a story that spotlights a young girl and her dream to fly.

Bass told WINK News that she’s seen “Come From Away” 164 times all over the world. But she’s excited for her 165th viewing on Tuesday at Barbara B. Mann.