The Broadway musical Come from Away is very uplifting and is about how people can all come together in the worst of times. The show is based on a true story. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, all planes had to be grounded, which left over 4,000 planes to be diverted from Europe to Canada. In Gander, Newfoundland, 38 airplanes were landed, carrying 6,579 people. The town was inhabited by only 10,000 people, so it was challenging to feed, clothe, and shelter all these extra people. Come from Away details how many of the “come from aways” as well as how the people native to from Gander reacted to this event.  

Recently, this show has caused much controversy. People are saying it makes 9/11 seem a positive event. Many peoples’ lives were lost. The show does not talk about all those people; it talks about the people who were stranded and confused. The show, however, is not making such a tragic event seem positive. Instead, the show depicts how such a negative event can make people come together and help each other. Everybody came together to help those who were suffering, scared, and confused. Many people who were in grounded planes were scared for their families because they were not told anything about the terrorist attacks. While they were trapped in an airplane for hours, they were told very little about why they were landed. Once they were off and heard what had happened, they were not able to get to a phone and call their loved ones.  

The choreography for this show is amazing. The show has a small cast, but it is very well utilized. Each cast member plays multiple parts. Each actor is someone from Gander as well as a “come from away.” The show had a very minimal sets and props. Another enjoyable thing about the show was that the show incorporated the band into the show. There is a scene in which the “come from aways” were all going to let loose and go to a bar. In this scene, the band members came in and acted as if they were in the bar. Another enjoyable thing is that it was a short show with no intermission.

The show has been open since March 12, 2017.  It was nominated for seven Tony awards. Some of the awards were Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book of a musical, and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Jenn Colella. The show won one Tony award for Best Direction of Musical. Jenn Collela plays Beverley/Annette & others. She was also in many other shows, such as If/Then. Pertina Bromley plays Bonnie and others. Come from Away is her Broadway debut. Geno Carr plays Oz and others. Come from Away is also his Broadway debut. Joel Hatch plays Claude and others. His Broadway debut was in Billy Eliot: The Musical.  Rodney Hicks plays Bob and others. His Broadway debut was in Jesus Christ Superstar. Kendra Kassebaum plays Janice and others. Her Broadway debut was in Rent. Chad Kimball plays Kevin T./Garth and others. Into the Woods was his Broadway debut. Lee MacDougall plays Nick/Doug and others. Come from Away is his Broadway debut. Caeser Samoya plays Kevin J./Ali and others. His Broadway debut was in Hot Feet. Q. Smith plays Hannah and others. Her Broadway debut in Les Miserables. Astrid Van Wieren plays Beluah and others. Come from Away is her Broadway debut. Sharon Wheatly plays Diane and others. Her Broadway debut was Les Miserables. The score, cast, and director of this show are all amazing.