A 25-year-old Story of Radical Hospitality in the Face of Great Tragedy Continues to Inspire Orpheum Ushers Today
At a Glance
- 25 Years Later: As we mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the extraordinary story of Gander’s compassion continues to inspire.
- A Broadway Connection: The Orpheum’s presentation of Come From Away introduced volunteers to the remarkable true story behind the musical.
- Inspired to Give Back: After seeing the story, FOTO Volunteer Manager Cindi Maglothin turned her inspiration into action, launching what would become the Come From Away Project.
- Kindness in Action: Since 2019, FOTO volunteers have carried Gander’s spirit forward through necessities drives, meals, and countless acts of service in the Memphis community.
- A Journey Full Circle: Nearly seven years later, Cindi traveled to Gander, experiencing firsthand the people and places behind the story that changed her—and the Orpheum’s volunteer community—forever.
For Orpheum Volunteer Manager Cindi Maglothin, it all began on September 11, 2019. After announcing that Come From Away would be a part of the 2019-2020 Orpheum Broadway Season, the Orpheum learned that the 2018 Canadian documentary “You Are Here: A Come From Away Story” was screening locally and invited staff, volunteers, and the public to attend to learn about the incredible true story behind the Broadway show before it made its way to the Orpheum stage.
“I left the screening and sat in my car and cried and just knew I had to do something,” said Cindi. “How is your life ever the same after learning about a story like that?”
That story is not necessarily unfamiliar. This September marks 25 years since the deadly attacks on September 11, 2001 claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people. What many don’t often remember is the hundreds of other planes in the sky. With chaos abounding, and every plane considered a potential threat, inbound flights were directed back to their point of origin or were diverted to airports around Canada due to the immediate closure of United States airspace. One of those airports was Gander International Aiport (YQX).
On the northeast tip of North America, on an island called Newfoundland, there’s an airport. It used to be one of the biggest airports in the world. And next to it is a town called Gander (Welcome to the Rock, Come From Away)
In a matter of hours on 9/11/2001, Gander, with a population of about 10,000 people practically doubled in size as they welcomed nearly 7,000 “plane people” from 38 diverted commercial planes.
And welcome them they did. For five days, the town of Gander and neighboring communities came to a standstill as they became responsible for the care of an unprecedented influx of people from around the world. Food, phones, comfort – nothing was too much, nothing was off limits. The local hockey rink became the world’s largest walk-in refrigerator to accommodate the mass amount of food donations. Commander Gander, the town’s mascot, entertained Make-A-Wish kids who couldn’t make it to their wish trip to Disney World. Two plane people (one from Texas and one from England) even fell in love! There are countless stories about how this town forever impacted thousands of lives.
We honor what we lost. But we also commemorate what we found! (Mayor Claude Elliot, Come From Away)
These were the stories that instantly moved Cindi. These people welcomed and cared for strangers without a second thought.
Their generosity did not go unnoticed. Newfoundland is the only place outside of the United States that was given pieces of steel from the World Trade Center – one in Appleton, one in Gander Airport, one outside of Gander Town Hall and one in the North Atlantic Aviation Museum.
And on the 10th anniversary in 2011, two playwrights descended upon the town to collect stories and conduct interviews for what would become the Broadway musical Come From Away.
100 minutes no intermission (because the people of Gander were not given a break so neither should the audience), the fast-paced events of those five days in 2001 are conveyed with a blend of classic musical theatre and traditional Newfoundlander music (see The Navigators).
So how do the actions of a town 2,558 miles away impact a Memphis volunteer organization?
“Thinking of where I was on 9/11, I remember making sure my family was ok, but I didn’t rush to the airport or help a stranger like the people of Gander did, said Cindi. “Their stories inspired me to do more.”
After seeing the documentary on that night back in 2019, Cindi immediately called an Orpheum staff member to see if they knew anywhere in the city where there was a need that Orpheum volunteers could help with. She learned that Memphis Shelby County Schools was doing a necessities drive and reached out to the ushers to mobilize. Within two weeks, they collected 1,100 items.
Since 2019, now known as the “Come From Away Project,” Friends of the Orpheum (FOTO) host 1-2 necessity drives a year for local organizations.
“What many people don’t know about FOTO, is that it doesn’t matter what is asked of them, they will always come through,” said Cindi.
Whether that be continuing the four-decade tradition of preparing a home cooked meal for every touring Broadway cast and crew that comes through Memphis (even in the midst of an ice storm) or providing 21 meals for play rehearsals over 7 weeks for community members in a food desert, FOTO has taken the Come From Away story of Gander to heart. Going above and beyond the call to bring joy to strangers.
So it was only fitting, almost seven years after seeing the documentary for the first time, that Cindi would finally make the journey to Gander.
On August 3, Cindi, joined by a long-time usher and Come From Away mega fans (an Orpheum staff member and her mom), stepped off the plane at Gander International Airport where 25 years earlier, 7,000 strangers landed and changed a small town forever.
“I never imagined I would ever get there,” said Cindi. “A month later and I’m still trying to process the whole experience. Being in Gander, I was able to finally put feet to what I had been feeling ever since I first heard the story.”
She walked where the “plane people” walked, visited the Dover Fault where the couple fell in love, met the real Constable Oz Fudge and Diane Davis whose stories are depicted in the show, saw the gifted pieces of World Trade Center steel, became an honorary Newfoundlander by getting Screeched-In, stood in the center of what was once the world’s largest walk-in refrigerator, and heard dozens of stories from locals about that fateful week in 2001.
The visit culminated in attending a local performance of Come From Away at the arts and culture centre. It was Cindi’s 10th time seeing the show, but this performance hit different. Sitting side-by-side with Gander residents, watching them watch their own story unfold in a theater on Airport Blvd where it all began.
Through the years, Cindi, through the power of persuasion and enthusiasm, has obtained a rare physical copy of that 2018 documentary (since it is not available for streaming outside of Canada). With special permission from the documentarians, she screens it for FOTO volunteers every chance she can get, knowing firsthand how hearing this story of human kindness can transform a person.
