Rod Bagheri, music director for theatre company A Noise Within, has a special affinity for the musical Come From Away. The musical, with its folk-influenced score, kinetic storytelling and deeply human characters, is now playing through Sunday, Nov. 1 at the company’s Pasadena home. (For details see below.)
Written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, the award-winning Broadway musical is based on the true story of how the people of Gander, Newfoundland, welcomed thousands of air travelers stranded in the aftermath of 9/11. On September 11, 2001, 38 transatlantic flights were diverted to the town of roughly 9,000 people. Suddenly, its residents were caring for some 7,000 unexpected visitors from around the world. They opened their homes, shared their food and turned five days of fear and uncertainty into a singular demonstration of generosity.
A Noise Within’s 12-member ensemble, directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and backed by a seven-piece live band headed up by Bagheri, creates an entire community onstage, moving fluidly between the people of Newfoundland and the “come from aways.”
A personal connection
“This musical means a lot to me personally,” notes Bagheri. “My father is an Iranian immigrant, and after 9/11 I quickly became aware of the ugly thoughts that some people keep barely hidden underneath a polite facade. Over the last 25 years I’ve been taught some unfortunate lessons in prejudice, but I’ve learned so many more lessons in the value and beauty of community and altruism. Every single time I’ve seen this show it’s been a wonderfully cathartic experience for me. I hope when people see our production they, too, are reminded that we’re all at our best when we help one another.”
For Bagheri, who was in elementary school when the 9/11 attack occurred, “my world and the view of the world toward me changed,” he says. He remembers being told by his parents not to play around airports and learning to hate the words – “you’ve been selected for additional screening.” “We never made it through security without being stopped for a decade after 9/11.”
Following are excerpts from my interview with Bagheri about bringing the music of Come From Away to the stage.
How did you become the resident music director?
It feels like it’s almost been an accident. I was in Newsies for 3-D Theatricals and the director T.J. Dawson recommended me to be music director for Animal Farm at A Noise Within. I began having long discussions with Geoff and Julia (Producing Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Rodriguez-Elliott) about the direction of the theater and doing musicals. It’s a wonderful partnership and I feel incredibly heard as an artist. And last January we sat down and talked about making it official with me as resident artist and music director.
At A Noise Within you’ve led the music for A Christmas Carol, One Man, Two Guvnors, A Man of No Importance, The Skin of Our Teeth, Animal Farm, A Christmas Carol and Sweeney Todd. What’s your approach to each musical?
First, I do research to get familiar with the show. I knew Sweeney Todd well. Then I meet with the director to hear their vision. For example, with Sweeney Todd, Julia envisioned minimalist. Think Lars von Trier’s 2003 film Dogville as a reference. She wanted a five-piece group. I thought it might feel funky, like we couldn’t afford a full band. Then she and Geoff pitched two pianos. I said, ‘two pianos and a cello and you have a deal.’
What are the challenges with this show?
Every musical has its own challenges. With this one the music rarely stops, it’s almost completely played through. It changes continuously and we have a bunch of vamps and tempo changes underneath the actors. It all has to be tightly timed with the actors and musicians going back and forth for it to all line up. There’s a tendency to rock out the whole show, and we get to some in the pub scene. But we have to think how can we play full out while prioritizing the audience hearing the actors
The cast must be an ensemble. They’re singing in counterpoint, they’re singing in duets, trios and as a group and really have to have their ears working, especially when they’re singing in in other languages like Hebrew, Arabic and Sanskrit.
Why do you like this show so much?
Come From Away is one of my favorite shows and has a lot of appeal. That’s why I pitched it. There’s a tendency in musical theatre to take it so seriously that it feels weird when the action stops and the singing starts. Sometimes the story is so flippant that it doesn’t engage us. This play is about a serious subject but doesn’t dwell on the negativity. It tells a story a lot of people didn’t know before. It looks at the beauty that can come out of tragedy. The show says we’re all human beings when push comes to shove and we can help and love each other. And on top of that – parts of it are really fun.
This show covers an event that changed the world.
9/11 is the framing device. The show is about events that happened, not specifically about the bombing, but how it affected people and shattered people’s lives. It was an event that was entirely negative and brought about political divisiveness, violent tension and the rise of Islamophobia and xenophobia. And the show says that at the same time, over here is a community in a small town that went out of its way to help people.
How does the show deal with the distrust and racism that resulted from 9/11?
Ali, an Egyptian passenger, is targeted with suspicion, subjected to a body search, and temporarily detained because of anti-Muslim fear. He faces wariness from other stranded travelers, but ends up being treated with kindness and defended.
The language barrier with the African passengers is conquered through a shared knowledge of the Bible.
How do you describe the music in this show?
With a Celtic and Newfoundland folk-rock sound it elevates the show. The music in Come From Away takes audiences into the world of the people. And the music does what music in musicals should do. It serves the story itself and invites you in. The action doesn’t stop for a beautiful song. It pulls you in and you relate.
Do you have a favorite song?
Tough choice. I have two. The Prayer builds around the classic Prayer of Saint Francis. During the song, characters across different faiths and backgrounds seek comfort in local churches, libraries, and quiet spaces. They speak and pray in different languages and traditions (including Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi and English.)
Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere captures the travelers’ emotions as they say goodbye to the residents of Gander. They look down at Newfoundland from the sky, and transition back to a changed world. I’m trying not to cry as I’m conducting.
And there’s also Me and the Sky, the power ballad of the show. It’s the song closest to traditional musical theatre. Cassandra Marie Murphy is excellent is the number that details Capt. Beverly Bass’s trajectory as a trailblazing female pilot.
The show has some unique instrumentation.
The show opens with the bodhrán (pronounced bow-rahn), an Irish frame drum that anchors the Celtic folk-rock score. It’s played using a small wooden stick (called a tipper) with one hand, while the musician’s other hand presses against the inside of the goat-skin drum head to change the pitch.
And we’re lucky. We have Damion Frigilliana, who’s new to us and extensively trained on the instrument.
During the famous pub/bar scene (Screech In) four of our musicians step further into the action, join the actors, and perform as a traditional Newfoundland bar band with percussion, fiddle and accordion. A cast member plays the “ugly stick.” A traditional, homemade Newfoundland percussion instrument, it’s fashioned out of a mop handle,’ jiggly’ things, a mop head with googly eyes and set in an old boot. It was created by Stephen Taylor, properties/designer/technical director and Courtney Park, costume shop manager.
What kind of research did you do?
We have a great dramaturge in Dr. Miranda Johnson-Haddad. She does so much research for us, finding photos and news articles and documentaries to watch. Several of the cast members had Zoom interviews with the people they’re portraying. And I know they were very moved.
A Noise Within is at 3352 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena. Performances through Sunday, Nov. 1 are at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday (no performance Oct. 31) with 2 p.m. matinees Saturday and Sunday. Tickets start at $41.75. To purchase and for information, call 626-356-3121 or visit anoisewithin.org.
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