Irene Sankoff

The musical and its soundtrack are absolutely 5-stars! Experience them as soon as you can! This book is a nice souvenir to be experienced after if, like me, you just want to squeeze a little more out of the musical.

A fine but brief look at the real people behind the events that occurred in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, on 9/11 and the days after, this book focuses largely on the creation of the Broadway musical years later, and it includes all the actor's lines and lyrics from the show. But show more it is all interspersed in a way that for me detracts from the power of the components. I'd recommend skipping through and reading the book and lyrics first, preferably while listening to the soundtrack, before tackling all the side material crammed in between scenes.

The production of the book itself is flawed with needless repetition, typos, and at least one real person's name, Werner Baldessarini, prominently misspelled throughout, raising tiny doubts about the factual accuracy of the rest. And while "reporter" Jim DeFede is mentioned a couple times, it seems dubious to not mention his 2002 book, The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland, which obviously played some part in the genesis of this production. show less

This is such a wonderful look at how the musical developed! I loved seeing actors side by side with the people they portrayed. I also had a lot of fun listening to the soundtrack while I read along with the lyrics. Reading this made me want to go see the show again.

I picked this up after seeing (and loving) the musical. The book provides the whole libretto (including some deleted passages and songs) with side notes from the writers. Interspersed, there are articles about the actual history, the story of how the show was put together, and interviews with cast members and the real life people that inspired the characters. I found it fascinating to read. One thing I wish had been included was more breakdown of how the roles are divided between the actors. show more One of the most fascinating parts of the musical is how the actors smoothly and instantaneously change roles, and I was curious how that worked out. show less

I absolutely loved this musical when I saw it in NYC in 2018. It was heartwarming, funny, and just a beautiful story of connection in the midst of tragedy. This book chronicles the process of bringing that story to the stage. For anyone who loves the musical, I would recommend the book. There are stories from the creators, the original cast members, and even responses from the real people who saw themselves portrayed on stage. I loved every second of it.