How a cozy Newfoundland pub shaped our vision for Come From Away.
Written by Peter Rothstein
I chose to set our production of Come from Away in a rural sports bar. Hospitality is at the center of this story, and the cozy familiarity of a neighborhood pub felt like the perfect “container” for this show. So, on a recent trip to Newfoundland I decided to have dinner at the Moosehead Lounge. (I must admit, the name alone sold me.)
Holly was our bartender. She was also the cook, the owner, and a great storyteller. The Moosehead Lounge is in the small town of Dover and is everything I hoped it would be: knotty pine paneling, an old checkerboard linoleum floor, a pool table, a dart board, and a grand moosehead hanging behind the bar.
Holly didn’t have a license to serve moose although she would have made an exception had she known I’d never tasted one. But I was more than happy to eat her fresh cod with homemade tartar sauce. I’m not a beer drinker, but made an exception because Holly told us we couldn’t leave Newfoundland without tasting Black Horse Lager, and poured us one on the house.
Another reason I chose to set the musical in a sportsbar is because I wanted to include television sets and live video in the production. Most of us experienced 9/11 via television. I can still picture standing in front of my small TV with a built-in VCR. I can picture the dresser it was sitting on and the deep green walls of my small apartment.
There were a few TVs on the walls of the Moosehead Lounge, but the volume was off so you could carry on a proper conversation, which we did. I struggled to understand everything Holly said due to her thick accent and phrases unique to Newfies, but we became fast friends nonetheless. She asked if we needed anything special for our production. Jokingly I said, “Well, I’d love that moosehead for our set.” She replied, “Well you can’t have that one; she’s my mom’s, but I can sure as heck getcha a moosehead.” Stay tuned.
