Tear Jerker / Come From Away

Inevitable, with anything involving 9/11:

• At the end of "28 Hours/ Wherever We Are," Captain Bass is speaking to her husband on the phone when she learns that a friend is missing or dead.
  • Four songs later, we find out that "Charles" is Charles F. Burlingame, captain of American Airlines Flight 77, which hit the Pentagon.
• "Lead Us Out of the Night" where everyone learns about what really happened in New York and see the Towers fall on TV
  Kevin: We watch those images for hours.... until someone finally turns the TV off.
• "Something's Missing", particularly this gut punch:
  Beulah: Hello, you've reached Gander Academy. This is Beulah Davis, how can I help you?
  Hannah: He's gone. It's over.
  • A moment or two later:
    Hannah: You are here
    At the end of a moment
    At the end of the world
    You are here
    On the edge of the ocean
    Where the story ends...

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• The last few lines of "Me and the Sky" hit hard, especially after the joy the rest of the song has.
  Beverley: Suddenly I'm flying Paris to Dallas
  Across The Atlantic and feeling calm
  When suddenly someone on air to air traffic says
  "At 8:46 there's been a terrorist action"
  And the one thing I loved more than anything was used as the bomb.
  Suddenly I'm in a hotel
  Suddenly something has died
  Suddenly there's something in between me and the sky...
• "Prayer" is one big Tearjerker crossed with a Heartwarming Moment, especially when the prayers of all the different religions come together in harmony towards the end of the song.
• All of the discrimination shown towards Ali (an Egyptian Muslim) can be this, especially since it culminates in him being strip-searched before being allowed on the plane after an air stewardesses tells Captain Bass that she doesn't feel safe after seeing him. We don't see it happen but the narration Ali and Captain Bass give about it is absolutely heart-wrenching, especially given that Ali is just as scared and confused by what's happening as the rest of them are.

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• Throughout the show, Bonnie's determination to care for the animals on the plane - especially Unga the pregnant "rare binobo chimpanzee" and her mate - are mostly Played for Laughs. Then, as Bonnie is saying goodbye to the animals, we learn that Unga lost the baby. It's just one more little tragedy amongst all the others.
• On a similar note, it's clear that the Kevins' relationship is potentially in trouble from the start but watching their (both perfectly understandable) reactions to the crisis drive them apart - to the point where on the otherwise joyous plane journey back to America, they can't even look at each other and they break up soon after they're home - is very upsetting.

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