Come From Away Broadway

Doomacheal
Sep 30, 2018
2 min read

Come From Away was a musical that didn’t know a whole lot about but knew that it was a musical that I needed to see based on the rave reviews I’d heard from a friend who had seen the show. Little did I know that it was going to be such an impactful and important experience.

Come From Away is set in the week following the September 11 attacks and tells the true story of what transpired when 38 planes were ordered to land unexpectedly in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon. The characters in the musical are based on and in most cases share the names of real Gander residents as well as some of the 7000 stranded travelers they housed and fed.

The Broadway production stars Petrina Bromley, Geno Carr, Jenn Colella, Alex Finke, De’Lon Grant, Joel Hatch, Chad Kimball, Lee Macdougall, Caesar Samayoa, Q Smith, Astrid Van Wieren and Sharon Weatley. All who play various characters to represent the 7000 people who were stranded in Gander along with the residents who called the island home.

I had a really rare experience seeing Come From Away through purchasing a standing room ticket which is something that isn’t offered in Australia. Going into the theatre I didn’t really know what to expect. Interestingly the seat was still allocated with the standing room located at the back of the theatre. You’d think that this would offer a poor view of the performance but fortunately there was no issue at all. The other beneficial thing about the standing room is that the production only runs for 100 minutes which doesn’t make standing painful. If I had to stand for a standard musical that goes for two and a half hours I don’t think I’d enjoy it as much.

Come From Away is quite a minimalist production and really stands on the brilliant story and music that drives everything along. The opening number Welcome To The Rock really sets the tone for what is to come and truly becomes the anthem for the show as a whole. I don’t usually get emotional at theatre performances but Come From Away left me with tears in my eyes. It’s both sad while also being incredibly uplifting at the same time.

And there’s fantastic news for anyone living in Melbourne. Come From Away will make its Australian debut at the Comedy Theatre in July 2019 and I 100% recommended signing up for the ticket waitlist at https://comefromaway.com.au/. I can’t wait to see the show multiple times when it opens in Melbourne next year and I honestly can’t stop raving about it to all of my friends and family!!