(Photo via Orlando Shakes)
Community, remembrance and friendship are taking the stage at Orlando Shakes with its new production of “Come From Away,” running through Sept. 27.
The Tony Award-winning musical tells the true story of 7,000 passengers who were stranded in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, following the events of Sept. 11, 2001. With thousands of people suddenly staying in their town, local residents opened their homes, schools and lives to people who had been strangers just days before.
In the production, each of the 12 actors plays multiple characters, allowing the cast to portray the different perspectives of those affected by the events.
Michael Swickard is one of the actors in “Come From Away.” He plays several characters, including a bus driver from Gander and President George W. Bush, but his main role is Kevin T., inspired by Kevin Tuerff, one of the passengers who spent almost a week in the Canadian town.
With a Master of Fine Arts in musical theater from the University of Central Florida, Swickard has spent years working in the performing arts. He described himself as one of the few “lucky ones that gets to make their full-time career out of performing.”
“I’ve worked regionally for many years here in the southeastern region. I did some stuff in the Midwest because I’m from Kansas, but I’ve been working at Disney for about 19 years,” Swickard shares. “I also music direct around town.”
In “Come From Away,” Tuerff was traveling back to the United States with his partner, Kevin Jung, after a vacation in France when their flight was diverted to Gander.
“My Kevin was a little more open to the kindness and open to the perspectives that the Ganders gave of their hospitality,” Swickard says.
Swickard said the two Kevins responded to the situation differently. While his character was more receptive to the hospitality they received, Kevin J. was more concerned because he had family living in New York.
“It’s seeing how two different individuals came together and dealt with tragedy differently,” Swickard explains. “The musical doesn’t frame it as one did it the right way, one did it the wrong way. The audience can see all these different perspectives and see which one they feel that they’re most connected to, and maybe see some representation there.”
Although the two Kevins experience the situation differently, they still find moments to flirt and tease each other, according to Swickard. Their interactions bring subtle, lighthearted moments to a story centered on tragedy and uncertainty.
Those moments allow the audience to laugh, helping balance the mood of the show and giving people a chance to “breathe” between more emotionally difficult scenes.
“Thankfully, the creators of the musical have built a musical that pushes the audience straight right to the edge of sobbing, and then tells a joke to kind of relieve that pressure,” Swickard says.
For Swickard, understanding his character also meant understanding Tuerff’s definition of home: wherever he can do the most good in the world.
“He’s looking for those opportunities as an entrepreneur of good, of goodness and of kindness, and how to spread it and get others to spread it as well. I would say that’s very similar to my approach to life,” Swickard says.
For him, one of the most important things audiences can take away from the Kevins is how they deal with grief and loss.
“There’s no wrong way to navigate grief and loss, and that we should see ourselves in ways that give ourselves some grace, and allow us to feel emotion, and allow us to deal with hardship in whatever way we deem necessary, as long as it’s healthy,” he shares.
Toward the end of the interview, when asked about his favorite musical numbers to perform, Swickard mentioned two: “Screech In” and “Prayer.”
“Screech In” is a four-minute song in which the town holds a ceremony to make the visitors “Honorary Newfoundlanders.” The second number, “Prayer,” focuses on the different faiths represented among the passengers and residents.
“[Prayer] it is about all the different faiths that were there and how they’re all praying for peace and understanding and love in that moment,” Swickard explains. “I really enjoyed that song too.”
Through the story of Gander and “Come From Away,” Swickard hopes audiences leave with a greater understanding of the importance of community, particularly during difficult moments.
“I hope they see that there is no problem that is too big to show kindness and for a community to come together,” he adds. “If we all just did a little bit of that, wouldn’t the world be a little better of a place?”
“Come From Away” runs for 1 hour and 45 minutes without an intermission and is being performed in the Margeson Theater in Orlando Shakes through Sept. 27. For more information and tickets, visit OrlandoShakes.org.
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