美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Come From Away' Musical Tells Story Of Resilience After 9/11

'Come From Away' Musical Tells Story Of Resilience After 9/11

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0005:34repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: 

As we near the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, we're reminded of many stories of courage and sorrow that emerged that day. One of the lesser² known stories is the subject of a new musical "Come From Away." It tells what happened in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland. More than 6,000 airline passengers were forced to land there on 9/11 after America's airspace was closed. The play opened last night at Ford's Theater in Washington, and NPR's Wade³ Goodwyn saw it.

WADE GOODWYN, BYLINE⁴: If you're not a Newfoundlander, if you're just visiting, the locals say you've come from away. And where exactly are you when you've come from away?

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing, as characters) You are here on the edge of the world, where the river meets the sea, here on the edge of the Atlantic, on an island in between.

GOODWYN: The opening number grows into a forceful declaration of place.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing, as characters) Welcome to the rock. - an islander. I am an islander. I'm an islander. I am an islander. I'm an islander. I am an islander.

GOODWYN: The show was filled with the music of Newfoundland, a mix of Celtic and rock.

GOODWYN: As the subject material that makes a hit musical can be confounding. An entire show about what the chorus line is thinking? They want a job. That's like one song, right? And you wouldn't suppose a number about thousands of people sitting on the tarmac would be all that compelling, but the song "28 Hours" is hilarious⁵ in a thank God that wasn't me sort of way.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing, as character) Something to drink.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing, as character) So the flight attendants brought out all the mini bottles of liquor and delivered them to everyone.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing, as character) So everyone got friendlier.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER #1: (Singing, as character) I took a couple of pictures of the view there in my camera. We didn't know where we were.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER #1: (Singing, as character) But we knew that we were hammered. Open the airplane doors. Wait out all the rumbles⁶. Show yourself you're better than who they are wherever we are.

GOODWYN: Retired⁷ American Airlines captain Beverley Bass⁸ was at the helm of Flight 49, a 777 going from Paris to Dallas Fort Worth.

BEVERLEY BASS: It was such a tremendous relief to get off the airplane that we'd been in so long. Probably the most astounding⁹ thing was they had tables and tables lined up of food and cakes and everything you can even imagine. The people of Gander had stayed up all night cooking food for everybody.

GOODWYN: Bass wanted to be a pilot from the age of seven, and she became the first woman captain at American Airlines in 1986. She's played by Jenn Colella.

JENN COLELLA: (Singing, as Beverley Bass) American Airlines had the prettiest planes, so I applied¹⁰ as a flight engineer, but the World War II pilots - they all complained. They said girls shouldn't be in the cockpit. Hey, lady. Hey, baby. Hey, why don't you grab us some drinks?

GOODWYN: Gander and the surrounding little towns play host to the thousands of uninvited visitors for five days - fed them, bathed them and clothed them, too. The luggage stayed on the planes. Hundreds of passengers and crew returned to Gander on the 10th anniversary. And that's where the show's authors, Canadian husband and wife team David Hein and Irene Sankoff, who both wrote words and music, interviewed many of them.

IRENE SANKOFF: And we spent nearly a month out there speaking to anyone who would speak to us. And after a month, we still had people that we didn't have time to meet with. I mean, everyone wanted to speak to us. And even when we traveled back to New York, there were people who were stranded¹¹ there that were out in New Jersey¹². And they traveled in two hours by train to talk to us 'cause they felt so strongly about how well they were taken care of when they were stranded there.

GOODWYN: Much of the show revolves¹³ around the interplay between the thousands of American passengers and local Ganderites. In one scene, two young, gay American passengers find their way into the local pub, have one too many, and one blurts¹⁴ out to the other's horror that they're a couple.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Matty) You're gay?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) And I'm about to pass out.

CHAD KIMBALL: (As Kevin Tuerff) But then Matty (ph) says...

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Matty) Well, praise be to God. My daughter's gay.

KIMBALL: (As Kevin Tuerff) And then Brenda (ph) says...

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Brenda) Sure, my sister's gay, and the woman across the road just ran off with her best friend.

KIMBALL: (As character) And then Brenda's brother says...

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character) Our uncle is 68 years old, and he just told us he's a bisexual.

KIMBALL: (As Kevin Tuerff) We somehow ended up in the gayest town in Newfoundland.

GOODWYN: Actor Chad Kimball plays Texan Kevin Tuerff, who was one half of that couple. As he flew away from Gander, Tuerff vowed¹⁵ to himself that he was going to try to live his life like the honorary Ganderite he'd become.

KEVIN TUERFF: They don't think that they did anything special and that we would do this for anybody at any time. But I really wondered, like - would we - in America, would we do what they did? And I wasn't sure.

GOODWYN: On the day after America's airspace finally reopened and the 38 wide-bodies flew away one by one, Gander's mayor found over 60,000 dollars stuffed into the town's suggestion box. It was a thank you from hundreds of grateful passengers. For a scholarship, a note said.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER #2: (Singing, as character) For the people who gave up their time, and they gave up their town. So let's give them a scholarship.

GOODWYN: Wade Goodwyn, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WELCOME TO NEWFOUNDLAND")

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "28 HOURS")

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ME AND THE SKY")

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "COME FROM AWAY")

(LAUGHTER)

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE")

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

3 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 hilarious   

adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed

参考例句：

• The party got quite hilarious after they brought more wine.在他们又拿来更多的酒之后，派对变得更加热闹起来。
• We stop laughing because the show was so hilarious.我们笑个不停，因为那个节目太搞笑了。

6 rumbles   

隆隆声，辘辘声( rumble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If I hear any rumbles I'll let you know. 我要是听到什么风声就告诉你。
• Three blocks away train rumbles by. 三个街区以外，火车隆隆驶过。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

9 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

11 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

12 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

13 revolves   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想

参考例句：

• The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 blurts   

v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He blurts out all he hears. 他漏嘴说出了他听到的一切。 来自辞典例句
• If a user blurts out an interesting idea, ask "What problem would that solve for you?" 如果用户不假思索地冒出一个有趣的想法，则询问他：“这可以解决哪些问题？” 来自互联网

15 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。