A filmed version of the Broadway musical hits AppleTV+ on Friday.
Welcome (back) to the rock!
Even in early days was that a pie in the sky discussion?
Jenn Colella in ‘Come From Away.'.Sarah Shatz/Apple TV+
JENN COLELLA:I didn’t hear a lot of that happening at all to tell you the truth.
It was the first I’d heard of it.
You left the show in 2019.
Sarah Shatz/Apple TV+
What made you want to come back and reprise the role for the filming?
I didn’t have to think twice about it.
Of course, I would come back and do it.
Was it strange or emotional coming back into the role after a very weird 18-plus months?
It was both strange and emotional coming back.
I did, yes.
I really tried to take stock of that and bring a lot of that into the character work.
I still wanted to honor what we had built from the beginning, but yes.
I wish that they felt out of my way.
To just do our theatrical performance.
But we had these beings in our faces.
I had to, at once, make friends with the camera and pretend like it wasn’t there.
I think we succeeded.
It was more of a last minute thing.
We rehearsed without the cameras in a ballroom.
Once we got into the theater, the cameras were there pretty immediately.
There wasn’t a lot of time to get used to it; we just had to jump in.
Chris Ashley also directed the stage production.
I assume that was helpful not having to merge stage and film directions from a different person?
That would have been terrifying, really terrifying.
“Me and the Sky” is a signature piece for you and for the show.
What was it like returning to that?
It was a little bit of both.
Did you talk to them at all about going back and filming this?
Captain Bass has been incredibly supportive from the beginning.
From the moment we met, we felt a kinship with one another and we became fast friends.
She has only supported every decision I’ve ever made while exploring the character of her.
I actually went to visit her in her home in Florida, in her vacation home.
It really helped me come back into the role this time.
But yeah, she was excited.
She’s super excited that we get to share this in a global way this time.
I can imagine that was helpful going back into the show and knowing her more deeply in that way.
I got to ride with her.
I thought, “Yes, Captain, yes!”
I wanted to get a picture, but I also just wanted to honor her.
I just have such a deeper sense of her and who she is in the world.
How did that add an additional layer or emotional weight to it?
Did you know going into the filming that this would be the premiere date?
We didn’t know when it would premiere.
So, I think it’s super smart to release this film on Sept. 10.
Like, come along with me.
But I can’t think too much about that.
Or else this raw nerve would just completely break down.
It’s the most positive thing you could take away from this tragedy.
That’s exactly right, and that’s the beauty of this show.
We always say that it’s a 9/12 musical, not a 9/11 musical.
You said that you brought the experience of the last year to the table.
We did talk a lot about it and the sense of that was quite palpable in the rehearsal room.
Then, the rest of us are gone, because we’re all so so connected.
This show is the definition of an ensemble piece.
Was it difficult to find that flow again?
Not at all, no.
We’ve learned how to care for one another, we’ve learned how to breathe together.
That rhythm we got back into quite easily.
I’m sure you were all happy to see each other too.
It’s also coming asBroadway is just starting to reopen.
It’s perfectly timed.
This is getting everyone excited again about the fact that theatre’s coming back.
It feels like a renaissance.
What are you most excited for audiences to discover in this filmed version?
For audiences to discover that kindness is accessible at all times, not just in the wake of tragedy.
That we all have the capacity to be kind, that it is a practice.
It truly, I believe, is the path for us, to better days.
