Last year, I saw and loved Come from Away on Broadway. It’s based on a real event- when the terrorist attacks on September 11th happened, the US airspace was closed for a few days, so all of the planes that were already in the air were diverted to Gander, a small town in Newfoundland. The population of the town basically doubled overnight, with all of these people from all over the world unexpectedly landing there. But because Canadians are awesome, they stepped up and welcomed everyone, so while the world was reeling from the horror of 9/11, there were friendships and at least one romance being formed up in Gander.

My favorite song from Come from Away is sung by a character based on a real person- Beverley Bass, who was the first female captain on American Airlines. (The real Beverley, who is now retired, is a Come from Away superfan- she’s seen the show something like 80 times and has become friends with the actress who plays her, Jenn Collela.) In this song, Beverley tells the story of her career and everything that led her to the moment she ended up in Gander. In four minutes, it covers so many emotions- hope, frustration, excitement, triumph, sadness, fear- and Jenn Collela knocks it out of the park.